Paul Peter Meouchi بولس الثاني بطرس المعوشي | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal,Patriarch of Antioch | |
 | |
| Church | Maronite Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Elected | May 25, 1955 |
| Term ended | January 11, 1975 |
| Predecessor | Anthony Peter Arida |
| Successor | Anthony Peter Khoraish |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 7, 1917 (Priest) |
| Consecration | December 8, 1934 (Bishop) by Anthony Peter Arida |
| Created cardinal | February 22, 1965 byPope Paul VI |
| Rank | Patriarch (Cardinal-Bishop) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1894-04-01)April 1, 1894 |
| Died | January 11, 1975(1975-01-11) (aged 80) |
Moran MorPaul II Peter Meouchi (born April 1, 1894,Jezzine,Lebanon – died on January 11, 1975,Bkerké, Lebanon), (orBoulos Boutros el-Meouchi,Meoushi,Arabic:بولس الثاني بطرس المعوشي) was the 74thMaronitePatriarch of Antioch from 1955 until his death in 1975. He was made acardinal in 1965.
Moran Mor Paul Peter Meouchi was born inJezzine,Lebanon on April 1, 1894.[1]Bechara El Khoury was his second cousin.[1] He studied at theCollege de la Sagesse inAshrafieh, a district of Beirut and later in Rome in thePontifical Urban University and at thePontifical Gregorian University.[2]
He was ordinatedpriest in Rome on December 7, 1917, and served as secretary of the Maronite bishops ofSaida and ofTyre. After having attended a visitation of the bishop of Tyre in the United States in 1920, he remained in the United States till 1934, serving the Maronite communities particularly inIndiana,Connecticut andCalifornia.
He was elected Maronite bishop of Tyre on April 29, 1934, and consecrated on December 8, 1934, atBkerké byMaronite Patriarch of Antioch,Anthony Peter Arida. His co-consecrators wereAugustin Bostani, Eparch of Sidon, and Pierre Feghali, Titular bishop of Epiphania in Syria.[3] He chose as episcopalmottoGloria Libani data est ei.[2]
Moran Mor Paul Peter Meouchi was elected patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites on May 25, 1955. He attended the I, II and III sessions of theSecond Vatican Council, 1962–1965, where he took a stand to defend the rights of Patriarchs to discourage the emigration of Christians from the Middle East.[4] On February 22, 1965, he was createdCardinal[5] byPope Paul VI, being the first Maronite to become cardinal.[6] He was elevated - as usual of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs, as a result of themotu proprio Ad purpuratorum patrum collegium[7] - to the rank of cardinal-bishop without granting asuburbicarian diocese.
Paul Peter Meouchi was from 1969 until his death chairman of the Synod of theMaronite Church and from 1970 until his death chairman of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon.
From a political point of view, his action as Patriarch of the Maronite was intended to promote the reconciliation among all the Lebanese, both Christians and Muslims.[1] He was a supporter of theArab nationalism, thus standing in opposition to the pro-USA formerpresident of LebanonCamille Chamoun.[1][4] Meouchi had also good relations with the Druze and was a personal friend and adviser ofNazira Jumblatt, mother ofKamal Jumblatt.[1]
He died on January 11, 1975, in the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate inBkerké, Lebanon, where he was buried.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
