Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Cairo of the Maronites (in Latin: Eparchy Cahirensis Maronitarum) is a seat 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 ...

suffragan of the Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites. It is currently ruled by eparch Georges Chihane.

Territory and statistics

The eparchy extends to all the faithful of the Maronites in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, and

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. Its eparchial seat is the city of Cairo, where the cathedral of St. Joseph is located. The eparchy at the end of 2013 had 5,000 members and is divided into seven parishes.

History

The patriarchal vicariate to Maronites in Egypt was built in 1904. It was raised to the dignity of eparchy on 22 June 1946 with the Papal bull Inter praecipuas 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 ...

Bishops

* Pietro Dib (July 30, 1946 - November 4, 1965 deceased) *

Joseph Merhi Joseph Merhi, CML (18 January 1912 in Mreijat, Lebanon – 30 March 2006) was a Maronite Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Cairo in Egypt. Life Joseph Merhi entered into the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries and received ...

, CML (August 24, 1972 - June 5, 1989 withdrawn) * Joseph Dergham (June 5, 1989 - September 18, 2005 withdrawn) * François Eid, OMM (September 24, 2005 - June 16, 2012 appointed patriarchal procurator to the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 ...

) * Georges Chihane, from 16 June 2012

List of Churches

List of Maronite Churches in Egypt * Saint Joseph Cathedral in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

* Saint Maron Parish - Heliopolis * George's Parish -

Shubra Shoubra ( ar, شبرا, ; Coptic language, Coptic: '; also written Shubra or Shobra) is one of the largest districts of Cairo, Egypt and it is administratively divided into three areas: Shubra (administrative region), Shubra, Road El Farag, and E ...

* Saint Therese Parish -

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

* Saint Therese Church -

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

* Saint Therese Church -

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

Sources

* Annuario Pontificio, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2003,

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dlcma.html * http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/cair1.htm {{Maronite Church Christianity in Cairo Catholic Church in South Sudan Eastern Catholic dioceses in Africa Eastern Catholicism in Egypt Eastern Christianity in Libya Eastern Catholicism in Sudan Lebanese diaspora in Africa Maronite Catholic eparchies