Glad you got him!! He is my Patriarch : - ) so I too am praying for him. BTW, “Bechara,” means “Annunciation” in Arabic. When he was elected Patriarch, he chose to be installed on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, pointing out that it was instituted in 2010 as a national holiday in Lebanon and because it is holy to Christians and Muslims. The patriarch also noted the special meaning of the Annunciation for him personally, as he was baptized on the feast at the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in the village of Chouya, Lebanon, 73 years ago. He is much loved and respected by the Maronite clergy.
The Maronites are the only Eastern Church that never separated from Rome. In a letter addressed to Pope Hormisdas in 517, monks of St. Maron address the Pope as the one occupying the Chair of St. Peter, and inform him that they are undergoing many sufferings and attacks patiently. They single out Antiochian Patriarchs Severus and Peter, who, they say, anathematize the Council of Chalcedon and Pope Leo, whose formula the Council had adopted. The Maronites are mocked for their support of the Council and are suffering afflictions. The Emperor Anastasius had sent an army that had marched through the district of Apamea closing monasteries and expelling the monks. Some had been beaten and others were thrown into prison. While on the way to St. Simon Stylite, the Maronites had been ambushed and 350 monks were killed, even though some of them had taken refuge at the altar. The monastery was burned. This was followed by persecution by the Moslems and the martyrdom of 500 monks.
Very little is known about the Maronites in Lebanon between the time of their being established there in the seventh and eighth centuries and the coming of the Crusades in the eleventh century. During this period the Maronites and the region were dominated by the Abbasids, whose rule was often severe and who persecuted and decimated the Maronites. When the first Crusaders arrived in Lebanon in 1098, they were surprised and pleased to find fellow Christians who welcomed them with hospitality. We are told that the Maronites were of great assistance to the Crusaders both as guides and as a fighting force of 40,000 men known for their prowess in battle.
Because of their close ties with the Crusaders, the Maronites began to adopt certain Latin practices. From the 12th century they began to use bells in Lebanon, according to the way of the Western church; up to that time they had used wood for the calling of the faithful to church as the Greeks do. When Queen Constance, wife of the King of Sicily, bought the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem and the Sanctuary of Bethlehem, she gave to the Maronites the Grotto of the Cross and many altars in other churches in the Holy City, permitting them to celebrate on the altar of the Franks and using their religious articles. It was during this time that Maronite prelates began wearing ring, miter and cross as the Latins do. Patriarch Jeremiah al-Amshiti was the first Patriarch to make an official visit to Rome in 1213. He assisted at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. A painting depicting a miraculous event which occurred while he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Rome showed the consecrated Host hovering above his head. It was displayed in St. John Lateran for many centuries. The Maronites are very devoted to the Blessed Mother and many miracles have been attributed to her intercession.
BTW, I am a Roman Catholic but I practice my faith in a Maronite Catholic Church. Beautiful and reverent liturgy, no EMHCs, no communion in the hand, and hearing the Consecration chanted in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. Keep those prayers going!