Paul-Mounged El-Hachem ( ar, بول منجد الهاشم; 8 September 1934 – 7 October 2022) was a Lebanese Maronite prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

as apostolic nuncio to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, and as apostolic delegate to the Arabian Peninsula. He headed the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek-Deir El Ahmar from 1995 to 2005.

Biography

El-Hachem was born on 8 September 1934 in Aqoura, Lebanon. He was ordained a priest of the

Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (in Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM. The Maronite C ...

on 28 March 1959. He worked for years in Lebanon. El-Hachem studied at the seminary in

Ghazir Ghazir ( ar, غزير) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of 380 meters above sea level and a total land area of . The tow ...

and went on to continue his education at Carmes Seminary in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He had

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

international studies International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, and social studies. He received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in theology and canon law from the Catholic University of Paris. He spoke

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

awarded him on, 11 December 1978, an Honorific Chaplain of His Holiness. From 1967 to 1970, he served as director of the Arabic programs for

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

. From 1970 to 1978, he was an official of the Commission for Social Communications, vice-director for the Holy See Press Office. In 1974 he was appointed delegate in charge of the

Vatican Film Library The Vatican Film Library is a film archive established in 1959 by Pope John XXIII. The collection comprises over 8,000 films including historic films, Church events, commercial films and documentaries. It is to be distinguished from the Knights of ...

. From 1978 to 1995, El-Hachem worked at the

Vatican Secretariat of State The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State ...

. From 1991 to 2004 he was a professor of

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pont ...

. On 30 October 1993 he was appointed head of the General Affairs Section of the Vatican Secretariat of State. On 10 June 1995, he was appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Baalbek-Deir El-Ahmar, succeeding Philippe Boutros Chebaya. The Maronite Patriarch of Antioch,

Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir , image = Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir.jpg , image_size = 170px , see = Antioch and the Whole East , title = Cardinal Patriarch emeritus of Antioch , elected = 19 April 1986 , appointed = 7 May 1986 , ended = 26 February 2011 , ordina ...

, consecrated him as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on 13 September 1995. His co-consecrators were Boutros Gemayel, Archeparch of Cyprus and

Roland Aboujaoudé Roland Aboujaoudé (7 September 1930 – 2 May 2019) was a Lebanese Catholic Maronite eparch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. Life Roland Aboujaoudé was born on 7 September 1930 in Jal-Edib, Lebanon. He was ordained priest o ...

, Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch. On 27 August 2005, El-Hachem was appointed

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Darnis and named apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Qatar and apostolic delegate to the Arabian Peninsula. On 4 August 2007 El-Hachem was appointed apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates as well. El-Hachem retired when he was replaced in those positions on 2 December 2009. He died on 7 October 2022, at the age of 88.

References

External links

* http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/baal1.htm
Paul-Mounged El-Hachem at Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hachem, Paul-Mounged 1934 births 2022 deaths Lebanese clergy People from Byblos District Lebanese Roman Catholic archbishops Lebanese Roman Catholics 21st-century Maronite Catholic bishops 20th-century Maronite Catholic bishops Apostolic Nuncios to Kuwait Apostolic Nuncios to Bahrain Apostolic Nuncios to Yemen Apostolic Nuncios to Qatar Apostolic Nuncios to United Arab Emirates Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II

Biography

See also

References

External links