New Syrian Archbishop gives fresh hope to people world wide

Father Jacques Mourad, a Syrian Catholic monk who was kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State terrorists in 2015 and managed to escape after five months in captivity, was consecrated as the new archbishop of Homs, Syria. 

At the Mass for the episcopal consecration, Bishop Flavien Rami Al-Kabalan, procurator of the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch to the Holy See, noted that the new archbishop “has placed his life in the hands of the Lord,” according to the Vatican agency Fides. 

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignace Youssif III Younan celebrated the Mass. Also in attendance were Cardinal Mario Zenari, the apostolic nuncio in Syria; Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Yoseph Absi; Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Mar Ignatios Aphrem II, and dozens of bishops. 

The Catholic News Agency reported that the faithful made the journey to the Syrian cathedral dedicated to the Holy Spirit from countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as all the regions of Syria. 

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expressed its delight that Father Jacques Mourad, who was held captive by Daesh for almost five months in 2015, has been consecrated as Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs by a synod of the Church’s bishops. 

John Pontifex, ACN (UK) Head of Press and Information, who met the new Archbishop on one of his project trips to Syria praised the choice. Archbishop Jacques Mourad was head of Mar Elian Monastery when the region was overrun by rebel militia groups in 2015. 

The monastery tended to hundreds of IDPs forced to flee the fighting. Aid to the Church in Need backed a number of projects run from the historic monastery, which was founded in the fifth century AD, including the provision of essential aid such as food and medicine.