Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis (born 24 August 1968 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese Catholic bishop, diplomat, and Maronite archbishop. He currently serves as the
Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates.
Life
El-Kassis graduated
utroque iure, doctorate in both civil law and church law. He received the sacrament of Holy Orders on 21 May 1994. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 19 June 2000, and has served in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Indonesia, the Sudan and Turkey. From 2007 until 2018, he served at the Foreign Relations office of the Secretariat of State in the Holy See.
He is fluent in Lebanese, Arabic, French, Italian, English, Indonesian, Spanish, and German
On 24 November 2018
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
appointed him as Titular Archbishop of
Rusellae
Rusellae was an important ancient town of Etruria (roughly modern Tuscany), which survived until the Middle Ages before being abandoned. The impressive archaeological remains lie near the modern ''frazione'' or village of Roselle () in the ''comun ...
and named him
Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan. He received his episcopal consecration in
St. Peter Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
on 19 January 2019 from Cardinal
Pietro Parolin
Pietro Parolin OMRI (, ; born 17 January 1955) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since February 2014, he has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since October 2013 and a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers sinc ...
as Principal Consecrator, who was accompanied by Cardinal
Dominique Mamberti
Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (born 7 March 1952) is the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015.
Early life and education
Dominique Mamberti was born in M ...
and Archbishop
Paul Youssef Matar
Paul Youssef Matar (born 1 February 1941 in Naameh, Lebanon) was the former Archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut. The archeparchial seat is the city of Beirut, at the Saint George Cathedral.
Life
Paul Youssef Matar was bor ...
.
On 3 January 2023,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
appointed him as the
Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates. He is to be the first nuncio who will be a resident in the Nunciature in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
which was opened in February 2022.
See also
*
List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See
The following is a sortable list of the heads of the diplomatic mission of the Holy See. An apostolic nuncio (also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic repres ...
References
1968 births
Living people
Lebanese Roman Catholic archbishops
Apostolic Nuncios to Pakistan
Apostolic Nuncios to United Arab Emirates
Roman Catholic titular archbishops
Lebanese expatriates in Pakistan
Religious leaders from Beirut
Catholic Church in the Middle East
Roman Catholic bishops in the Middle East
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