Cardinal Patriarch Moran Mor Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church, will preside over the Saturday evening liturgy at St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church, located on 3 Appleton Street in Waterville, on Saturday, June 25 at 4 p.m. A reception will be held following the Mass, and Bishop Robert P. Deeley will be present to welcome Cardinal al-Rahi to Maine. All are invited to gather for the Mass.
The Maronite Catholic Church is the largest of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches in the Middle East with around three million members, including nearly one million in Lebanon. The Maronite Church traces back to a community formed around St. Maron, a 4 ^th century monk, receiving papal recognition in 518 A.D. The Maronite Church is in full communion with the Church of Rome and the Pope.
Born in Lebanon on February 25, 1940, Cardinal al-Rahi pursued his complementary and secondary studies at Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour, a Jesuit school in Lebanon. He took his monastic vows with the Mariamite Maronite Order on August 31, 1962, and was ordained to the priesthood on September 3, 1967. He holds a Ph.D. in Canon Law and a Ph.D. in civil law. On July 12, 1986, he was ordained a Bishop and was appointed as Patriarchal Vicar at Bkerké, the see of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate. In June of 1990, he was appointed Archbishop of Jbeil, a district of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. Pope John Paul II also named him as the coordinator of the Synod for Lebanon that year. He taught Canon Law and theology at St. Joseph University in Beirut; Holy Spirit University in Kaslik, Lebanon; and Sagesse University in Beirut. He also founded Notre Dame University in Louaizé, Lebanon.
On March 15, 2011, al-Rahi was elected as the 77 ^th Patriarch of the Maronites, replacing Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir who had retired at the age of 91 after 25 years as Patriarch. Patriarch al-Rahi is the first Maronite Patriarch to come from a religious order since 1766. The inauguration of his Patriarchate was held on March 25, 2011, in Bkerké. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Patriarch al-Rahi to Cardinal on November 24, 2012.
 
Cardinal al-Rahi’s visit to Maine is historic and unprecedented, marking the first time a Patriarch of the Maronites has celebrated a Mass at St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church. Archbishop Paul Nabil El-Sayah and Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the Maronite Church will concelebrate the Mass. Any priests who wish to also concelebrate the Mass are asked to arrive at the church no later than 3:30 p.m.
 
For more information, contact St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church at (207) 872-8515.