the meeting of the Council of Heads of the Catholic Churches in Syria

His Beatitude the Patriarch participates in the meeting of the Council of Heads of the Catholic Churches in Syria
Maronite Archdiocese of Latakia – Tartous

At exactly eleven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, participated in the meeting of the Council of Heads of Catholic Churches in Syria, at the headquarters of the Maronite Archdiocese of Latakia, in the city of Tartous.

His Beatitude Youssef Al-Absi, Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, also participated.
His Eminence Cardinal Mario Zenari, the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, and Their Eminences the Bishops of the Catholic Churches in Syria.

Participating from our Syriac Catholic Church were their Eminences: Mar Dionysius Antoine Shahada, Archbishop of Aleppo, Mar John Jihad Battah, Archbishop of Damascus, Mar Yacoub Joseph Shimey, Archbishop of Hasakah and Nusaybin, Mar Yulian Yacoub Murad, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, and Nabek, as well as the Secretary of the  Council, Father Amer Qassar.

His Beatitude, our Father the Patriarch, offered prayers to the Lord Jesus, risen from the dead, so that the work of the meeting would be crowned with success, especially with regard to the election of chairs of the Council’s committees, so that they would carry out their work and service effectively, so that our testimony as church shepherds would be accepted by the Lord and the Church.

His Beatitude, our Father the Patriarch, offered prayers to the Lord Jesus, risen from the dead, so that the work of the meeting would be crowned with success, especially with regard to the election of chairs of the Council’s committees, so that they would carry out their work and service effectively, so that our testimony as church shepherds would be accepted by the Lord and the Church.

His Beatitude Patriarch Al-Absi also delivered a speech in which he welcomed all the participants, addressing the most prominent raised topics , and asking God to bless this meeting.
The papal ambassador delivered a speech to the participants in which he conveyed a greeting of fatherly love and blessing from His Holiness Pope Francis, wishing this meeting a success.
During this meeting, the attendees discussed church affairs dealing with the spiritual and pastoral services that the church provides to believers in light of the current circumstances. They also elected new chairs for various council committees.