Elevation of Father Michel Jalakh to the Episcopal Rank

The media office of the Patriarchal See in Bkerke distributed a statement from the Secretariat of the Maronite Patriarchate regarding the elevation of Father Michel Jalakh to the Episcopal rank. It stated: "His Holiness Pope Francis has elevated Father Michel Jalakh, the Antonine monk and Secretary of the Eastern Churches in the Vatican since February 2023, to the Episcopal rank with the title 'Archbishop of Nisibis Honoris Causa.' His episcopal ordination will take place in Bkerke on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The new bishop was born in Bouchrieh (Archdiocese of Antelias) on August 27, 1966. He entered the Antonine monastic order and donned the monastic habit in 1983. He took his perpetual vows in 1990 and was ordained a priest on October 8, 1991. He holds a Doctorate in Eastern Church Sciences from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome of the Jesuit Fathers. He served as the prior of the Mar Ashiya Monastery in Rome and held the position of General Delegate of the Order to the Holy See. He was assigned the presidency of the Antonine University and elected Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches. He is fluent in Italian, French, and English. May God bless his service at the Holy See and his episcopacy for His glory and the good of the Church."