The Apostolic Vicariate of Beirut (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Vicariatus Apostolicus Berytensis) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical jurisdiction or

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of the Catholic Church in Lebanon, where

Eastern Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

are far more numerous. In 2010, there were 15,000 baptized. Its current bishop is Cesar Essayan. Its cathedral episcopal see is the St. Louis Cathedral, Beirut in the national capital city

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, while the former Crusader Cathedral of Tyre is in ruins.

Antecedents

The Catholic presence in Lebanon of the

began with the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

in the late of eleventh century and ends with the final defeat of the Crusaders and the disappearance of the Crusader principalities in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

after the middle of the thirteenth century. In this period, in the lands corresponding to the current Lebanon were established several Latin ecclesiasticals, which most of the time they were supplanting ancient bishoprics of the early days of Christianity: the Archdiocese of Tyre from which depended the

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

dioceses of Latin Catholic Bishop of Acre, Caesarea Philippi, Sidon and

Berytus Berytus (; ; ; ; ), briefly known as Laodicea in Phoenicia (; ) or Laodicea in Canaan from the 2nd century to 64 BCE, was the ancient city of Beirut (in modern-day Lebanon) from the Roman Republic through the Roman Empire and late antiquity, Ear ...

(modern

), while from the

Latin Patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

depended the

dioceses of Byblos, Tripoli and Antarado. These dioceses disappeared with the end of the Crusader period and remain today mostly as the venue owners. The Latin continued presence in the country with the

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the t ...

, who arrived as early as the thirteenth century, and then with missionaries of other religious orders, such as the

Capuchin Friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of Franciscans, Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three "Religious institute#Nomenclature, F ...

, the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

, the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: People *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both ...

and the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, who arrived in the seventeenth century. The Maronite Joseph Assemani acted as papal legate for the

Lebanese Council of 1736 The Lebanese Council of 1736 (Arabic: ''al-Majma al-Lubnanī'', also Council of Mount Lebanon or Council of Luwayza) was a synod of the Maronite Church held from 30 September to 2 October that year at the monastery of Our Lady of Luwayza near Zou ...

and presented there the reform proposals for the Maronite Church. For the faithful of the Latin Rite of Lebanon was not instituted any ecclesiastical district until the end of the French mandate at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: the

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

(papal diplomatic envoy) of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

held the functions of the bishop of the Latin Catholics of Lebanon. Medieval bishops: *Raymond 1176–1180 *Odo c. 1182–1191 *Robert c. 1210 *Galeran c. 1233–1245 *Bernard c. 1267 *Bartholomew c. 1272–1283 *Robert ? *Matthew 1323–1333 *Peter 1348 *James ? *Blaise 1397

History

The

was erected on 4 June 1953 with the

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Solent caeli'' of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, with territory that was taken from the Syrian Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo. The apostolic vicar is a member of the Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions. It enjoyed a papal visit from

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

in September 2012.

Organisation

The apostolic vicariate extends its jurisdiction over all Catholic faithful of the Latin Rite in Lebanon. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part if any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. Its territory is divided into only eighth Latin parishes.

Episcopal ordinaries

(all

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

) * Eustace John Smith, OFM,

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Apamea Cibotus (8 December 1955 – 1973 Resignation) * Paul Bassim, OCD, Titular Bishop of

Laodicea ad Libanum Laodicea ad Libanum ("Laodicea by Mount Lebanon") (), also transliterated as Laodiceia or Laodikeia; also Cabrosa, Scabrosa and Cabiosa Laodiceia – was an ancient Hellenistic city on the Orontes in Coele-Syria, the remains of which are fou ...

(8 September 1974 – 30 July 1999 Retired) * Paul Dahdah, OCD,

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Aræ in Numidia Arae in Numidia (also spelled Aræ in Numidia) was an Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Its modern location is presumed in present Algeria. History The city was important enough in the Roman ...

(30 July 1999 – 2 August 2016) * Cesar Essayan, OFMConv (2 August 2016–present)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with incumbent biography links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirut, Apostolic Vicariate Catholicism in Beirut Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in the Middle East Catholic Church in Lebanon Organisations based in Beirut 1953 establishments in Asia