Germanos Mouakkad (born April 1853 in Damascus, Syria - died on 11 February 1912 in Beirut) was a Melkite priest and bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Baalbek. He was the maternal great-uncle of

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''The Exorcist (novel), The Exorcist'' and for his screenplay for The Exorcist, the 1973 film adaptat ...

, bestselling American author of ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...

''.

Life

Germanos Mouakkad was born in the beginning of April 1853, son of Issa Mouakkad and his wife Marie Kayata. His parents were

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", referrin ...

s. At his baptism he received the name Joseph. Up to the age of twelve, he attended a Christian school in his home parish, after which he worked as an assistant to a merchant. At sixteen he became—against the fierce resistance of his mother—a novice in the monastery of the Holy Savior, where a monk named Ignace accepted him. After spending some years with Joseph Bakos studying philosophy, he was ordained by Clément Bahous priest and served as chaplain in Cairo and Damascus. From 1880 to 1886 Mouakkad was Patriarchal Vicar of the Melkite Patriarch of Jerusalem. On 16 March 1886, he received the episcopal ordination and was—now called Germanos—Bishop of the Eparchy of Baalbek. In 1896 Mouakkad received during his stay in Rome by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

's permission, a medal for missionary priests and in 1903 established a missionary company to priests called Missionary Society of St. Paul ( fr) in Harissa, Lebanon. Germanos Mouakkad died on February 11, 1912, in a French hospital in Beirut from the effects of long-term illness. In 2014 a Lebanese stamp was issued with his picture.

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmouaq.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouakkad, Germanos 1853 births 1912 deaths Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics Founders of Catholic religious communities