Paul Fouad Tabet (28 November 1929 – 20 July 2009) was a Lebanese-born Catholic prelate of the

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the Maro ...

, who spent many years 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 Rome ...

. He became an archbishop in 1980 and from 1980 to 2005 served as

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

to numerous states, including various nations of the Caribbean, Nigeria, and Greece.

Life

Born in Maarab,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, on 28 November 1929, Tabet was ordained a priest of the

on 22 December 1956. In 1960, he was appointed to prepare for work in the diplomatic service of the

by studies at Rome's

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

. From 1978 to 1980 he was a commissioner of the Roman Curia on the West Indies (Antilles). In this period, he was given the title of

honorary prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.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 ...

appointed Tabet

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 Sinna and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, to Barbados, to Jamaica, and to the Bahamas, and Apostolic Delegate to the remainder of the Caribbean, to which the

refers by the name of the Antilles. Tabet was consecrated bishop on 30 March 1980 by the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Cardinal

Anthony Peter Khoraish Patriarch Moran Mor Anthony III Peter Khoraish (September 20, 1907 – August 19, 1994), (or ''Antonios Boutros Khoraish'', ''Antoine Pierre Khreich'', ''Khraish'', ''Khoraiche'', ar, أنطونيوس الثالث بطرس خريش), was the 75t ...

, assisted by co-consecrators

Chucrallah Harb Chucrallah Boutros Harb (May 5, 1923 – December 31, 2019) was a Lebanese Hierarch of Maronite Church and an eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek and Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Jounieh. Biography Harb was born in Tannour ...

, Eparch of Jounieh, 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 on ...

, auxiliary bishop of Antioch. On 11 February 1984, Tabet's responsibilities were expanded with the additional appointment as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Belize. On 8 September 1984, he was reassigned as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Nigeria. On 14 December 1991, he was appointed the

Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva The Permanent Observer of Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva is the representative of the Holy See to the European office of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The Church also has a representative at the headquarters of the United Na ...

, a post he held until March 1995. On 2 January 1996, Tabet was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Greece. He remained in the post until 25 January 2005, date of his retirement from the Holy See's diplomatic service. Tabet was member of the honorary committee of the Bios Prize Award of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

.biopolitics.gr
Archbishop Paul Fouad Tabet, apostolic nuncio, died on 20 July 2009.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabet, Paul Fouad Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Nigeria Apostolic Nuncios to Belize Apostolic Nuncios to the Bahamas Apostolic Nuncios to Barbados Apostolic Nuncios to Trinidad and Tobago Apostolic Nuncios to Greece Lebanese Maronites 20th-century Maronite Catholic bishops 21st-century Maronite Catholic bishops 1929 births 2009 deaths