Stéphanos II Ghattas ( ar, إسطفانوس الثاني غطاس) (January 16, 1920 – January 20, 2009), was an

eparch Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...

of the

Coptic Catholic Church The Coptic Catholic Church ( ar, الكنيسة القبطية الكاثوليكية; la, Ecclesia Catholica Coptorum) is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic Chur ...

. From 1986 to 2006 he served as the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria. He was also a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. His canonization process has been initiated.

Biography

Ghattas was born Andraos Ghattas in the village of Cheikh Zein-el-Dine in the Girga Governorate (now part of the Sohag Governorate), Egypt. Feeling called to serve as a priest, as a teenager he entered the minor seminary of the Coptic Church in Cairo, then did studies at a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

secondary school in the city. He then went to Rome, where he studied at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, earning doctorates in both theology and philosophy. He was ordained there on March 25, 1944. He then returned to Egypt where he taught at Coptic seminaries in the country, first at Tahta, then at Tanta. In 1952 Ghattas entered the

Congregation of the Mission , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...

, doing his year of

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in France. He then served in the Lebanon for six years, after which he was sent to Alexandria, where he was the Superior of the Vincentians in Egypt. He was chosen to be the Coptic Bishop of Luxor on 8 May 1967 and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 9 June 1967 in Alexandria by Cardinal

Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos I Sidarouss ( ar, إسطفانوس الأول سيداروس) (22 February 1904 – 23 August 1987) was a Cardinal and leader of the Coptic Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic ''sui juris'' particular church of the Roman Catholic Ch ...

, Coptic

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

. He was elected patriarch himself on June 8, 1986. Pope John Paul II granted him the '' ecclesiastica communio'' on June 23, 1986. Pope John Paul II named him a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the Catholic Church in 2001. As he was past the legal age of 80 at the time, however, he was unable to participate in the

Conclave of 2005 The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elec ...

. Ghattas retired from the patriarchal office in March 2006, and his successor, Antonios Naguib, was elected on March 30, 2006. Ghattas died in Cairo, where he had retired, on January 20, 2009, four days after his 89th birthday,http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/23223.php?index=23223&lang=en and was buried in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt in Cairo.

Notes

External links

Cardinal Ghattas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghattas, Stephanos 1920 births 2009 deaths Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II People from Sohag Governorate Vincentians Pontifical Urban University alumni Vincentian bishops Coptic Catholic Patriarchs of Alexandria 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Egyptian cardinals Vincentian cardinals Burials in Egypt People from Luxor People from Bethlehem 21st-century venerated Christians

Biography

See also

Notes

External links