The Apostolic Vicariate of Beirut ( Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Berytensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in Lebanon, where Eastern Catholics are far more numerous. In 2010, there were 15,000 baptized. Its current bishop is Cesar Essayan. Its cathedral episcopal see is the St. Louis Cathedral, Beirut in the national capital city Beirut, while the former

Crusader Cathedral of Tyre Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

is in ruins.

Antecedents

The Catholic presence in Lebanon of the Latin Church began with the Crusades in the late of eleventh century and ends with the final defeat of the Crusaders and the disappearance of the

Crusader principalities The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political int ...

in the Levant after the middle of the thirteenth century. In this period, in the lands corresponding to the current Lebanon were established several Latin ecclesiasticals, which most of the time they were supplanting ancient bishoprics of the early days of Christianity: the Archdiocese of Tyre from which depended the

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

dioceses of Latin Catholic Bishop of Acre, Caesarea Philippi, Sidon and

Berytus ) or Laodicea in Canaan (2nd century to 64 BCE) , image = St. George's Cathedral, Beirut.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Roman ruins of Berytus, in front of Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in moder ...

(modern Beirut), while from the Latin Patriarch of Antioch depended the

dioceses of Byblos, Tripoli and

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. These dioceses disappeared with the end of the Crusader period and remain today mostly as the venue owners. The Latin continued presence in the country with the Friars Minor, who arrived as early as the thirteenth century, and then with missionaries of other religious orders, such as the

Capuchin Friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

, the Carmelites, the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both Roman ...

and the Jesuits, who arrived in the seventeenth century. For the faithful of the Latin Rite of Lebanon was not instituted any ecclesiastical district until the end of the French mandate at the end of World War II: the Apostolic Delegate (papal diplomatic envoy) of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

held the functions of the bishop of the Latin Catholics of Lebanon.

History

The apostolic vicariate was erected on 4 June 1953 with the Papal bull ''Solent caeli'' of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

, with territory that was taken from the Syrian

Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo The Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo (in Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Aleppensis) is an apostolic vicariate (Latin pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, entitled to a titular bishop) and is immediately subject to the ...

. The apostolic vicar is a member of the Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions. It enjoyed a papal visit from Benedict XVI in September 2012.

Organisation

The apostolic vicariate extends its jurisdiction over all Catholic faithful of the Latin Rite in Lebanon. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part if any ecclesiastical province. Its territory is divided into only eighth Latin parishes.

Episcopal ordinaries

(all

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

) * Eustace John Smith, O.F.M., Titular Bishop of Apamea Cibotus (8 December 1955 – 1973 Resignation) *

Paul Bassim Paul Bassim, OCD, (14 November 1922 – 21 August 2012) was a Lebanese bishop of the Catholic Church. Biography Bassim was born in Zgharta, Lebanon and as a young man became a friar of the Discalced Carmelites. He was ordained a Roman Catholic ...

O.C.D. The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

, Titular Bishop of

Laodicea ad Libanum Laodicea ad Libanum ("Laodicea by Mount Lebanon") ( el, Λαοδίκεια ἡ πρὸς Λίβανου), also transliterated as Laodiceia or Laodikeia; also Cabrosa, Scabrosa and Cabiosa Laodiceia – was an ancient Hellenistic city on the O ...

(8 September 1974 – 30 July 1999 Retired) * Paul Dahdah, O.C.D., Titular Archbishop of

Aræ in Numidia Arae in Numidia (also spelled Aræ in Numidia) was an Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Its modern location is presumed in present Algeria. History The city was important enough in the Ro ...

(30 July 1999 – 2 August 2016) * Cesar Essayan, O.F.M.Conv. (2 August 2016 – present)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with incumbent biography links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirut, Apostolic Vicariate Catholicism in Beirut Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Asia Catholic Church in Lebanon Organisations based in Beirut 1953 establishments in Asia