His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian Presides Over an Evening Celebration for the Feast of Saint Ignatius Maloyan in Jounieh - Lebanon
MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Participates in the Celebration at the Head of an MECC Delegation
Under the presidency His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Catholic Family, and at the invitation of the Bzommar Patriarchal Congregation and the Municipality of Jounieh, a cultural and spiritual evening was held on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Ignatius Maloyan under the title: “From the Wounds of Genocide to the Crown of Holiness.” The event took place on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the Municipal Palace in Jounieh.
The evening was attended by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, heading an MECC delegation that included the Coordinator of the Dialogue, Social Cohesion, and Human Dignity Program Professor Laure Abi Khalil, and the Coordinator of Media and Church Relations Journalist Lea Adel Maamary.
Attendees were also Religious, official, and cultural personalities.
The gathering included speeches highlighting the life of Saint Ignatius Maloyan, his witness to the faith, and the journey of people who moved from the suffering of genocide to the glory of sainthood.
At the end of the celebration, the Armenian Cross Monument “Khachkar” was inaugurated in the old street of the city of Jounieh, as a tribute to memory and a way to preserve the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage.