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Nr. Prot.: 45/S/2015
Date: 09.8.2015
A glimmer of hope for the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch
A very good news that this suffering and sorely tried Church, already long overdue. His prayer was answered!
On the morning of Saturday, August 8th, 2015, Pope Francis has decreed the Promulgation of the Beatification of the Servant of God Flavien Michael MELKI, martyr Bishop of Jezireh, a Syriac Catholic diocese. He was born in 1858 in Kalaat Mara (now Turkey, near Mardin) and killed in hatred of the faith, in Jezireh Ibn Omar (currently Gizreh, Turkey) on August 29th, 1915.
In these painful times experienced by Christians, especially the Syriac communities in Iraq and Syria, the news of the beatification of one of their martyrs, will surely bring encouragement and consolation to face the today’s trials of appalling dimension.
Many thousands of displaced people of Iraq and Syria who took refuge in Lebanon, will attend the beatification Mass, to be held on the evening of the 29th of current August (06:30 p.m.), at the Patriarchal convent of Our Lady of Deliverance - Charfet, Daroun – Harissa, Lebanon. The Divine Liturgy will be presided by His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Youssef III YOUNAN, the Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church. His Eminence Cardinal Angelo AMATO, Delegate of Pope Francis will read at the beginning the Decree, and the icon of the new Blessed Flavien Michel MELKI will be unveiled upon the great altar.
At this spiritual event of historical significance, will take part all the Fathers synod of The Syriac Catholic Church, and Patriarchs of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, led by the Maronite Patriarch-Cardinal Bechara EL-RAI, a large number of bishops and priests, as well thousands of faithful coming from Syriac dioceses from Middle-East and the Diaspora.
To the supplications addressed by friends and acquaintances during the 1915 genocide, urging him to go out to a safe place, the new Blessed repeated: "No way! Even my blood I will shed for my sheep!".
"Blessed Martyr Michael, intercede for us, and protect especially the Christians in the Orient and all the world in these hard and painful days. Amen".
Secretariat of the Patriarchate of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church
Patriarchal convent of Our Lady of Deliverance - Charfet, Daroun – Harissa, Lebanon
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