Mexico: Pope Francis accepts resignation of Maronite bishop and appoints apostolic administrator

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the eparch (bishop) of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico, Mons. Georges M. Saad Abi Younes, and appointed Abi Younes as apostolic administrator to nod to Father Elie Mikhael, of the Eparchy of Saint Marón of Brooklyn in the United States.

Ad he did it the Vatican Press Office this July 10, and was also released by the General Secretariat of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate and by the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch and all of the East.

The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Georges M. Saad Abi Younes at the age of 76, one year after the retirement age for bishops.

An eparchy, in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches, is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction equivalent to a diocese in the Roman Catholic Church.

Maronite eparchies outside the patriarchal territory usually bear the name of some devotion rather than the place where they are located, since their jurisdiction can cover an entire country or a large region, such as the Eparchy of Saint Marón in the United States, of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico, and of San Charbel in Argentina.

What are the Maronites?

He Maronite rite It is one of more than 20 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Pope and has its roots in the mountainous regions of Lebanon.

This community owes its name to Saint Maron, a 4th century Syrian hermit, whose teachings gave rise to Maronite spirituality.

The Maronites celebrate the same sacraments as the Latin Rite Catholic Church, although with rituals and ceremonies that reflect their Eastern heritage, and have always maintained their loyalty to the See of Peter.

Who is Fr. Elie Mikhael?

Father Elie Mikhael was ordained a priest on August 19, 1995 in Lebanon.

He has a degree in Philosophy and Theology from the University of the Holy Spirit of Kaslik (USEK), a private Catholic institution founded by the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1961.

Additionally, he has a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and another in Psychology from Boston College, a private Catholic university of the Society of Jesus.

In the United States, Fr. Mikhael served as pastor at St. Anthony’s Maronite Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Parish in Miami, Florida. He also served as administrator at St. Charbel’s Mission in Raleigh and St. Stephen’s Maronite Mission in Charlotte.

In Latin America, he was responsible for the first Maronite mission in Lima, Peru, and in Bogotá, Colombia.