A requiem Mass is set for Saturday evening to remember the patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite Church.
The three Maronite Catholic churches in Windsor-Essex will hold a joint memorial mass for His Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite Catholic Church. Sfeir died in Beirut on Sunday at the age of 98.
"The Maronite Catholic Church has lost a great pillar and an extraordinary man who was a symbol of love and peace to all Lebanese people, and to the Maronite Church," a statement from St. Peter's Maronite Church in Windsor said.
St. Peter's, located on Tecumseh Road West at Pelissier, will host the Saturday Mass. The other Maronite churches participating are St. Charbel in Windsor and St. Anthony's in Leamington.
The Lebanese Maronite Church is an Eastern Rite Catholic Church that is in association with the Vatican. Sfeir, born in Rayfoun, Lebanon in 1920, was ordained into the priesthood at the age of 30. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1961 and elected to the primacy of the Maronite Bishops in 1986, confirmed soon after by Pope John Paul II. The pope made Sfeir a cardinal in 1994.
The requiem Mass begins at 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The church said local dignitaries and community members have also been invited.
Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite Catholic Church. Photo from Wikipedia/Public Domain.