Considering that the July 1st meeting of the Christian leaders of Lebanon in the Vatican is the initiative of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, various political, religious and academic figures, as well as Lebanon’s Ambassador to the Holy See and representatives of the Lebanese civil society and media, held correspondences with the Catholicos to learn more about his perspectives concerning the meeting.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X received at the Patriarchal Headquarters in Damascus, His Eminence, Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary along with an accompanying delegation, appointed by His Beatitude Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine.

His Eminence's visit precedes His visit to Beirut, where he will meet His Eminence Elias Odeh, Metropolitan of Beirut and His Eminence Silouan Moussi …

On June 15, 2021, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II presided over the evening prayer at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma – Damascus.

Their Eminences Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub, Patriarchal Vicar for Youth Affairs and Christian Education, Mor Boutros Kassis, Patriarchal Assistant and Patriarchal Delegate of the Archdiocese of Aleppo and Environs, and Armenian Orthodox Archbishop of Damascus Armash Nalbandian, were present at the evening prayer.

Your Excellencies, dear brothers in the Episcopate,

Reverend Fathers,

Dear religious and consecrated persons,

Dear faithful Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

May the Lord give you His Peace!

On the occasion of celebrating the 130th jubilee of “Rerum Novarum” the encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891, concerning “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor”; the Episcopal Committee “Justice and Peace” which emanates from the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in the Middle East, has launched the annual Mass initiative which will be celebrated during the “Peace Day for the East”…

Pope Francis releases his message for the fifth World Day of the poor. He highlights the need for conversion and for an approach that counters new forms of poverty in the world and promotes the freedom needed to live a life of fulfilment according to the abilities of each person.

On Thursday, 28 May/10 June 2021, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Ascension.

On this feast, the Church in thanksgiving and mixed joy with sadness, commemorates that our Lord Jesus Christ was ascended into the heavens, forty days after His Resurrection, and after many appearances to His Disciples. He was ascended into the heavens in glory and sat at the right side of the Father, deifying the human flesh He had assumed and He is to come again, to judge both the living and the dead.

n Thursday, 21 May / 3 June 2021, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Holy glorious God-crowned Sovereigns and Equal to the Apostles, Constantine and Helen.

This feast was celebrated as a feast of the Throne of the Patriarchate because Constantine the Great and his mother Saint Helen established the All-holy Shrines, the Horrendous Golgotha, the All-holy Sepulchre, and set the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood as their guardian.

ORDAN - On Tuesday, 8 June, 2021, the Latin Patriarchate clergy held their first "physical" meeting following a lapse of one and a half years, at the Mary of Nazareth Church, at the Latin Vicariate in Sweifieh, Western Amman.

Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Tito Yllana as the new Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.

By Vatican News staff writer

On the day the Vatican celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Pope Francis appointed Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana as Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine.

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of June, and invites everyone to pray for those preparing for marriage, which is “a vocation born from the heart.”

By Devin Watkins

“Is it true, what some people say—that young people don’t want to get married, especially during these difficult times?”

Pope Francis opens a video accompanying his prayer intention for the month of June with that question.

Following a brief encounter with Pope Francis at the weekly General Audience, Michael Haddad describes the Pope’s blessing of his goal to walk 100 km across the Arctic.

By Salvatore Cernuzio & Felipe Herrera-Espaliat

Michael Haddad has been paralyzed from the waist down since he was six-years-old, after a jet ski accident that caused a spinal cord injury. Yet, he hasn’t let that tragic event affect his drive to live life to the fullest.

Christian and Muslim leaders come together on Thursday for a webinar to share their insights on the Pope’s historic visit to Iraq at the beginning of March 2021.

Here is the intervention of His Beatitude Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans

Thanks to the Higher committee of Human fraternity for organizing of this virtual meeting. I hope that we will reach a vision and a work plan to implement what H. H. the Pope indicated in his speeches and meetings.

The "Reasons for Our Hope" project, promoted by the Oasis International Foundation and the McGrath Institute for Church Life, aims to help Christians reach “a new understanding of their faith by taking Muslims' questions seriously.”

JERUSALEM - The Latin parish of Jerusalem celebrated on Monday, May 31, 2021, the conclusion of the Marian month, with a Holy Mass and a procession in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Present were Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo, Bishop Emeritus Kamal Bathish, Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land…

“How many mothers and fathers go to sleep at night worrying that they will not have enough food to feed their families the next day: food for all.”

The Holy See’s final webinar, in a series of three, kicked off with those words of Pope Francis, recalled in a video launching the event held on Monday.

On Sunday, 17/30 May 2021, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman at the shrine of Jacob’s well in Nablus of Samaria.

On this feast, the whole Church and especially the Church of Jerusalem commemorates the meeting and the conversation of the Samaritan Woman from town Sychar with our Lord Jesus Christ, at Jacob’s well, when the Lord revealed her manner of living and told her He is the Messiah the Christ.

Le pape François a invité toute l’Église à réfléchir à une ère « post-COVID », à bâtir ensemble un monde différent et meilleur dans lequel personne n'est laissé pour compte. Pour y parvenir, ceux dont les souffrances sont les plus grandes, ceux qui sont confinés en marge de l'épanouissement humain et dont la voix est généralement ignorée doivent jouer un rôle actif et vigoureux dans la construction de ce monde à venir.

On Tuesday, May 25th, 2021, His Holiness Aram I received the following visitors and held the following meetings in Antelias:

A) Syriac Archbishop George Saliba. Archbishop Saliba extended an invitation on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II to His Holiness Aram I for the episcopal ordination of Syriac Orthodox bishops to be held at the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Residence in Atchaneh. Accompanying the Archbishop were the two prospective bishops.

In his video message for the launch of the Laudato si’ Platform on Tuesday, Pope Francis notes that "with the Encyclical Laudato si’, promulgated in 2015, I invited all people of good will to take care of the Earth, which is our common home."

This "house that hosts us" has been suffering for a long time, from "the wounds that we cause by our predatory attitude," laments the Pope.

JERUSALEM – On Saturday, May 22, 2021, H.B. Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, presided over Pentecost vigil prayer and intercession for justice and peace, which he had called for in the name of the Catholic Heads of Churches, and in collaboration with the Episcopal Committee for Male Religious, and the Union of the Women Religious. The vigil was held at the Basilica of Saint Stephen of the Dominican Fathers in Jerusalem.