St. Raymond's pastor to lead Brooklyn eparchy (Maronite Rite Bishop)

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Pope John Paul II has appointed Chorbishop Gregory J. Mansour, vicar general and chancellor of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon and rector of St. Raymond Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis, as the Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn.

He is the second pastor of St. Raymond’s to be named a bishop in the past three years and also is the second American-born man to be named a Maronite bishop in this country. Both men — Bishop-elect Mansour and Bishop Robert J. Shaheen — head the two U.S. eparchies, an Eastern-rite Catholic term equivalent to a diocese.

The Maronite Church is an Eastern-rite Catholic Church with apostolic roots in the Church of Antioch in the Middle East. The Maronite Church is one of 21 churches in the Eastern and Latin rites of the universal Catholic Church.

In a statement at a press conference after being named a bishop Jan. 10, Bishop-elect Mansour said the appointment places on his shoulders a responsibility that goes back to apostolic times.

He said the faithful laity of the Eparchy of St. Maron "have made a great contribution to the society in which they live, they promote the beauty of Middle Eastern Christian culture that traces its origin to the culture of Jesus Himself, and they bear witness to the principles of close and devoted family life. In American society Maronites have truly been the ‘salt of the earth and the light of the world.’"

He cited his experiences in St. Louis, the assistance he has received from priests and bishops of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and his love of St. Raymond’s and people of his eparchy.

Bishop-elect Mansour was appointed as rector of St. Raymond Cathedral by Bishop Shaheen in the spring of 2001. The Bishop-elect succeeded Bishop Shaheen as head of St. Raymond’s.

Bishop-elect Mansour, 48, also held the titles of vicar general of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon and chancellor since 1994. In St. Louis, he served as a visiting professor of spirituality at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

Bishop-elect Mansour was born in Flint, Mich. After attending a community college, he received a bachelor’s degree in health education from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He attended Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary in Washington, D.C., and received a degree in sacred theology from the Catholic University of America, also in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1982.

Bishop-elect Mansour also received a degree in spiritual theology from the Gregorian Pontifical Institute in Rome. He served as pastor of a Maronite parish in Uniontown, Pa., from 1983-94. He was nominated chorbishop by Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Sfeir in 1995 and was ordained the following year by then-Bishop John Chedid.

The appointment as bishop followed his nomination by the patriarch, Cardinal Sfeir, and the Synod of Maronite Bishops in Lebanon. He will be ordained March 2, the Feast of St. John Maron, in Lebanon by Cardinal Sfeir.

He will be installed in the presence of Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio, April 27 in Brooklyn.

The Eparchy of St. Maron includes 16 states, mainly along the East Coast. It has 33 parishes, five missions, 60 diocesan priests, 12 religious priests, a seminary, a monastery, convent and retreat center.

Father Andre Mhanna, associate rector of St. Raymond’s, is to be named to succeed Bishop-elect Mansour as rector of the parish and chancellor of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, based in St. Louis.

Father Mhanna, 29, a native of Lebanon, was the first priest ordained by Bishop Shaheen when he was ordained May 19, 2001, at St. Raymond’s. He attended a pontifical university in Lebanon and received further education in France. He attended Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Washington University in St. Louis and is pursuing a doctorate in historical theology at St. Louis University. He is the master of ceremonies for his diocese and formerly was the director of young adult ministry in the diocese.

Father Mhanna said Bishop-elect Mansour’s appointment shows there is more universalism in the Church and that the Maronite Church is not just an ethnic church, it is a Catholic Church as any other serving people "in whatever place it is found to be." He cited the need to understand the issues facing Christianity in the Middle East and Christians’ role as peacemakers there.

I don't know who among us is Maronite Rite, but we have a sizable Maronite Rite parish here that keeps producing bishops.

Sandyeggo attended the Maronite Rite just this past weekend! Pinging the catholic list.

RITES

A Rite represents an ecclesiastical, or church, tradition about how the sacraments are to be celebrated. Each of the sacraments has at its core an essential nature which must be satisfied for the sacrament to be confected or realized. This essence - of matter, form and intention - derives from the divinely revealed nature of the particular sacrament. It cannot be changed by the Church. Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as interpreted by the Magisterium, tells us what is essential in each of the sacraments (2 Thes. 2:15).

When the apostles brought the Gospel to the major cultural centers of their day the essential elements of religious practice were inculturated into those cultures. This means that the essential elements were clothed in the symbols and trappings of the particular people, so that the rituals conveyed the desired spiritual meaning to that culture. In this way the Church becomes all things to all men that some might be saved (1 Cor. 9:22).

There are three major groupings of Rites based on this initial transmission of the faith, the Roman, the Antiochian (Syria) and the Alexandrian (Egypt). Later on the Byzantine derived as a major Rite from the Antiochian, under the influence of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom. From these four derive the over 20 liturgical Rites present in the Church today.

Western Rites and Churches
Immediately subject to the Supreme Pontiff as Patriarch of the West

ROMAN (also called Latin)
The Church of Rome is the Primatial See of the world and the Patriarchal See of Western Christianity. Founded by St. Peter in 42 AD it was consecrated by the blood of Sts. Peter and Paul during the persecution of Nero (63-67 AD). It has maintained a continual existence since then and is the source of a family of Rites in the West. Considerable scholarship (such as that of Fr. Louis Boyer in Eucharist) suggests the close affinity of the Roman Rite proper with the Jewish prayers of the synagogue, which also accompanied the Temple sacrifices. While the origin of the current Rite, even in the reform of Vatican II, can be traced directly only to the 4th century, these connections point to an ancient apostolic tradition brought to that city that was decidedly Jewish in origin.

After the Council of Trent it was necessary to consolidate liturgical doctrine and practice in the face of the Reformation. Thus, Pope St. Pius V imposed the Rite of Rome on the Latin Church (that subject to him in his capacity as Patriarch of the West), allowing only smaller Western Rites with hundreds of years of history to remain. Younger Rites of particular dioceses or regions ceased to exist.

• Roman - The overwhelming majority of Latin Catholics and of Catholics in general. Patriarch of this and the other Roman Rites is the Bishop of Rome. The current Roman Rite is that of the 1969 Missale Romanum, to be published in a third edition in 2001.
- Missal of 1962 (Tridentine Mass) - Some institutes within the Roman Rite, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, have the faculty to celebrate the sacramental rites according to the forms in use prior to the Second Vatican Council. This faculty can also be obtained by individual priests from their bishop or from the Pontifical Council Ecclesia Dei.
- Anglican Use - Since the 1980s the Holy See has granted some former Anglican and Episcopal clergy converting with their parishes the faculty of celebrating the sacramental rites according to Anglican forms, doctrinally corrected.
• Mozarabic - The Rite of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) known from at least the 6th century, but probably with roots to the original evangelization. Beginning in the 11th century it was generally replaced by the Roman Rite, although it has remained the Rite of the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and six parishes which sought permission to adhere to it. Its celebration today is generally semi-private.
• Ambrosian - The Rite of the Archdiocese of Milan, Italy, thought to be of early origin and probably consolidated, but not originated, by St. Ambrose. Pope Paul VI was from this Roman Rite. It continues to be celebrated in Milan, though not by all parishes.
• Bragan - Rite of the Archdiocese of Braga, the Primatial See of Portugal, it derives from the 12th century or earlier. It continues to be of occasional use.
• Dominican - Rite of the Order of Friars Preacher (OP), founded by St. Dominic in 1215.
• Carmelite - Rite of the Order of Carmel, whose modern foundation was by St. Berthold c.1154.
• Carthusian - Rite of the Carthusian Order founded by St. Bruno in 1084.

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

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