Robert Joseph Shaheen (3 June 1937 – 9 August 2017) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the Maronite Catholic Church. He was the former

Eparch Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon. He resided at St. Raymond's Cathedral in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri.

Life

Shaheen was born to Albert and Aileen Shaheen in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

; his grandfather came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 1898. He attended St. Peter Grammar School and Danbury High School before entering St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield in 1955. In 1958, he transferred to the Eastern ritebr>St. Basil Seminary
in

Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23-square-mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Midd ...

, while attending classes at

St. Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a Private college, private Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1889, it is named after Saint Ansel ...

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is def ...

. After being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

(October 2, 1962) and

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

(June 7, 1963), Shaheen was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

by Bishop Francis Mansour Zayek on May 2, 1964, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Shortly after his ordination, he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Raymond's Church in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, which had then been without a resident priest for over 20 years. Under his leadership, St. Raymond's went from just a few faithful parishioners using a four-family apartment to a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

with hundreds of active families. From 1965 to 1970, he organized and celebrated Maronite liturgies on regular basis. He also developed newsletters, bulletins, and fliers; conducted a census to identify Maronites in the greater metropolitan area; and introduced spiritual and cultural programs, including Maronite

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

classes. He hoste
National Aposolate of Maronites Convention
in 1970. Kicking-off a fund drive for new church in 1971, he later dedicated a new church in November 1975 and a new rectory in February 1977. He was ordained an

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

in September 1978, and dedicated a new parish center "The Cedars" in November 1979. On March 31, 1986, Shaheen was ordained a

Chorbishop A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop". History Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the se ...

by Archbishop Zayek. He purchased additional property and buildings for future development as a Maronite retirement center and cultural center in 1991, and again hosted the National Apostolate of Maronites Convention in 1995. On December 5, 2000, Shaheen was appointed

of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, following the retirement of Our Lady of Lebanon's first bishop, John George Chedid. He was consecrated a bishop on February 15, 2001, by Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. and his co-consecrators were Roland Aboujaoudé,

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

in Antioch, John George Chedid, retired bishop of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles, Stephen Hector Youssef Doueihi, Bishop of Saint Maron in Brooklyn, and Francis Mansour Zayek, Archbishop Emeritus ad personam of Saint Maron in Brooklyn. Shaheen was the first Lebanese Maronite priest or bishop from the United States.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted his age-related resignation on July 10, 2013. Shaheen died on August 9, 2017, in St. Louis at the age of 80. He was buried in his birthplace of Danbury, Connecticut on August 21.

References

External links

Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaheen, Robert Joseph 1937 births 2017 deaths 21st-century Maronite Catholic bishops American people of Lebanese descent People from Danbury, Connecticut American Maronites Saint Anselm College alumni Danbury High School alumni Lebanese-American Maronite Catholic bishops

Life

See also

References

External links

Episcopal succession