News from the Orient – May 3, 2024

This week’s News from the Orient:

Palm Sunday Celebration

On Sunday, April 29, Eastern Christians following the Julian calendar celebrated Palm Sunday.

In Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, Palm Sunday is marked by numerous processions commemorating the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, hailed by crowds waving palm branches.

The celebration is particularly popular in the East, where Christians traditionally wear colorful clothing. In the liturgy, this is the last moment of joy before the Passion.

Jubilee of Cardinal Louis Sako

On Monday, May 1, Cardinal Louis Sako, the 24th Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church of Iraq, celebrated his priestly jubilee. He celebrated Mass in the chapel of the seminary in Erbil, where he has resided since leaving Baghdad.

Ordained in Mosul, on May 1, 1974, with the desire to be a worker-priest, he was elected Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans in 2013 by the bishops of his Church.

After Mass he shared an anniversary cake with Archbishop Thomas Miriam, Bishop emeritus of Urmia, several seminarians, his family, and close friends.

150 years of Beirut’s St. Joseph University

St. Joseph University in Beirut is approaching its 150th anniversary. Celebrations for the jubilee year began on Tuesday, April 30.

The college of Ghazir, founded by the Jesuit fathers to train the local Maronite clergy, was transferred to Beirut in 1875.

Since its foundation, St. Joseph University has trained a significant portion of the country's leaders and senior officials.

This commemoration offered an opportunity for Fr. Salim Daccache, the university’s rector, to recall the values of its foundation: training youth in excellence, respect for freedom of conscience in dialogue, working to build a national community, and the duty to combine faith and reason.