Bechara Boutros al-Ra'i was born in Hemlaya, Lebanon, on 25 February 1940. Educated at the Jesuit Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour, he entered the Mariamite Maronite Order on 31 July 1962 and was ordained a priest on 3 September 1967. From 1967 to 1975 he directed the Arabic programs of Vatican Radio in Rome, where he also earned a doctorate in canon and civil law. Returning to Lebanon, he ran his order's scholasticate, served as a judge of the patriarchal tribunal, and in 1990 was appointed Eparch of Byblos (Jbeil), having been consecrated auxiliary bishop of Antioch on 12 July 1986.
On 15 March 2011 the Maronite synod elected him the 77th Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, succeeding Cardinal Sfeir; he took the additional name Boutros, after Saint Peter. Benedict XVI created him a cardinal on 24 November 2012 — in the rank of cardinal bishop, by ancient custom for Eastern patriarchs — making him the first Maronite patriarch to take part in a conclave (2013). His patriarchate has been defined by Lebanon's crises: he has pressed for the country's neutrality, convened Muslim and Christian leaders together, and welcomed Benedict XVI in 2012. He serves in the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches.
Major Works & Initiatives
77th Maronite Patriarch
Leads the largest Eastern Catholic Church in the Middle East.
First Maronite in a conclave
Voted as cardinal patriarch, a historic first.
Vatican Radio's Arabic voice
Directed the Arabic programs for eight years.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.