Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

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Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir (2005)
Coat of arms of Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

Mar Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir ( Arabic نصر الله بطرس صفير, DMG Naṣr Allāh Buṭrus Ṣufair ; French Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir , born May 15, 1920 in Reyfoun , Lebanon ; † May 12, 2019 in Beirut , Lebanon) was a Lebanese clergyman and theologian and Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and the whole of the Orient .

Life

Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir was born in 1920 in Reyfoun in the Maronite eparchy of Sarba . After leaving school, he studied philosophy at the Patriarchal Seminary in Saint Maron in Ghazir (1937–1939) and philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut (1940–1943). He was ordained a priest on May 7, 1950 . He was curate of the parish in his hometown Reyfoun and also diocesan secretary of Damascus from 1950 to 1956 . From 1951 to 1961 he taught Arabic philosophy and literary studies at the Marist School in Jounieh , and from 1956 to 1961 he was also the personal secretary of the Maronite Patriarch.

Cardinal Sfeir with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (2006)

In June 1961 he was appointed Patriarchal Vicar General and Titular Bishop of Tarsus dei Maroniti , a month later, on July 16, 1961, he was ordained bishop by Pierre-Paul Méouchi, co- consecrators were Jean Chedid OMM , Patriarchal Vicar, and Michel Doumith , Bishop of Sarba . He participated in the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. In 1974/75 he was the patriarchal administrator of Anton Peter Khoraiche , then Archbishop of Saida, and from 1980 a councilor of the Commission for the Revision of Canon Law . In 1977 he was appointed representative of the President of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon for Caritas in Lebanon. the appointment as spiritual advisor to the Order of Malta followed .

In 1986 he was elected Patriarch of Lebanon and, as is customary with Maronite patriarchs, also added the name Boutros (Peter) to his name. Between 1986 and 1994 he took part in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops three times. On November 26, 1994 appointed him Pope John Paul II. To Cardinal Bishop . Cardinal Sfeir did not take part in the 2005 conclave because the age limit of 80 years was exceeded . In 2010 he was the Pontifical Delegate and Honorary President of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. He was President of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon and of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient, and Chairman of the Synod of the Maronite Church.

On February 26, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI. his resignation request submitted for reasons of age. He also did not take part in the 2013 conclave because the age limit was exceeded.

He died in a hospital in Beirut in May 2019, three days before his 99th birthday, of complications from pneumonia. His successor, Cardinal Béchara Pierre Raï , classified Sfeir as an "icon" and "pillar of the nation" for the Maronite Church and Lebanon. In his telegram of condolences, Pope Francis called him a passionate defender of the sovereignty and independence of his country and he remained a great figure in the history of Lebanon. Cardinal Sfeir was buried in the Bkerke Monastery , seat of the Maronite Patriarchate.

Memberships

Cardinal Sfeir was a member of the following institutions of the Roman Curia :

Fonts

  • Des sources de l'Evangile , 1975
  • Des visages qui ne sont plus, vol. I , 1983
  • Des visages qui ne sont plus, vol. II , 1984

Web links

Commons : Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Décès de l'ancien Patriarche Maronite, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. libnanews.com, May 12, 2019, accessed May 12, 2019 (French).
  2. ↑ a b c SFEIR Card. Nasrallah Pierre. In: Documentation. Holy See Press Office , accessed May 12, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Nomine nell'ambito dell'assemblea speciale per il Medio Oriente del sinodo dei vescovi (10-24 October 2010). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, April 24, 2010, accessed May 15, 2019 (Italian).
  4. ^ Letter from Pope Benedict XVI. to His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir on the occasion of his resignation from the office of Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites. vatican.va, February 26, 2011, accessed February 27, 2013 .
  5. ^ Rinuncia del Patriarca di Antiochia dei Maroniti. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 26, 2011, accessed May 12, 2019 (Italian).
  6. ^ Morreu antigo líder da maior comunidade cristã do Líbano. In: daily newspaper. Diário de Notícias , May 12, 2019, accessed May 12, 2019 (Portuguese).
  7. ↑ Telegramma di cordoglio del Santo Padre per la morte dell'Em.mo Card. Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, May 14, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 (French).
  8. ^ Nomina di Membri del Pontificio Consiglio per i Laici. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 25, 2002, accessed May 12, 2019 (Italian).
predecessor Office successor
Antonius II Cardinal Khoraiche Patriarch of Antioch
1986-2011 		Béchara Pierre Cardinal Raï OMM
personal data
SURNAME Sfeir, Nasrallah Boutros
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sfeir, Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal (full name); Ṣufayr, Naṣr Allaah
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lebanese clergyman and theologian, Patriarch of the Maronites of Lebanon and cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Reyfoun , Lebanon
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 2019
Place of death Beirut , Lebanon