The Middle East Council of Churches Congratulates His Beatitude Patriarch Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan

On the occasion of the Sixteenth Anniversary of His Election as Syriac Catholic Patriarch

On the occasion of the Sixteenth Anniversary of the Election of His Beatitude Patriarch Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan as Syriac Catholic Patriarch, the Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs, on behalf of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) family, extends his heartfelt congratulations to His Beatitude as he is an Honorary President for the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), raising Prayers to God to bestow upon him His blessings and grant him good health and determination in his Pastoral mission and Church service, wishing him many years of goodness, blessings and holiness.

On January 20, 2009, His Eminence Mor Ephrem Joseph Younan, Metropolitan of the Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States of America and Canada, was elected Patriarch to be named “Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan,” the Most Blessed Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch.

The election took place during the afternoon session of the Electoral Council of the Holy Synod of the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch, which was convened at the invitation of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, and presided over by the President of the Dicastery of the Oriental Churches at that time, His Beatitude Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, at the House of the Child Mary, near the columns of Saint Peter’s Square South – Rome.

After this session, all the fathers of the Holy Synod moved to the Church of the Monastery, offering thanks to the Lord and obedience to the elected Patriarch, who knelt down, declaring his acceptance of the election, relying on the care of the Lord and the inspirations of His Holy Spirit, and entrusting his patriarchal service to the Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of Shepherds. He took as a slogan for his Patriarchal service the saying of Saint Paul, the Apostle of the Nations, “I have become all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9: 22), asking for the intercession of Saint Mary the Virgin, Our Lady of Deliverance, Saint Ephrem the Syrian, and all the Saints, so that the Lord may bless his service for the good of the Church and the salvation of the souls of the faithful.