Today, Saturday, the Maronite Church celebrated the beatification mass of Maronite Patriarch Elias Al-Hoyek, in the summer patriarchal edifice in Diman, in a historical, national and religious event, in the presence of the President of the Republic Joseph Aoun, the First Lebanese woman Nemat Aoun, the Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and his wife, the Army Commander Rudolf Heikal and his wife, along with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, representative of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the papal ambassador, and the patriarchs. Bishops, general superiors and general superiors, ministers, deputies, military and security leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, and crowds of believers from Lebanon, the patriarchal domain, and the countries of expansion. The celebration was opened with a liturgical procession, then Bishop Mounir Khairallah presented the petition to declare beatification in the name of the Maronite Church, while Bishop Hanna Alwan presented the spiritual and national biography of the new blessed one. Cardinal Semeraro then read the beatification decree in Latin, and Mother Marie Antoinette Saadeh read its Arabic translation, before handing five official copies of it to the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai, Bishops Khairallah and Alwan, Mother Saadeh, and Sister Noura El-Khoury Hanna. After thanking His Holiness the Pope, the curtain was removed from the official portrait of the Blessed One, then his relics entered in a solemn procession carried by Bishop Antoine Charbel Tarabay, Bishop Paul Marwan Tabet, Father Elias Suleiman, and Father Jean-Paul Charbel, and were placed on the altar to begin the divine sacrifice. The celebration was chaired by Patriarch Al-Rahi, who said in his sermon: “We meet today to announce with joy and jubilation that the Church has elevated Patriarch Al-Howayek to the ranks of the blessed,” adding: “Congratulations to Lebanon, which has given birth to this spiritual and national stature, because God wished for a man to rise from this earth who lived by one slogan, which is, ‘My God, please you.’” Al-Rai considered that "Patriarch Howayek is a shining sign in the history of the Church and the nation, and holiness is not an honor bestowed by the earth, but rather a gift bestowed by God to those who lived the Gospel faithfully until the end." The Patriarch stopped at the national dimensions of the new Blessed One, and said: “Patriarch Howayek approved the constitution in 1926 and laid down his philosophy, which is harmony in difference and the necessity of protecting the identities and privacy of all Lebanese components,” noting that “he was a man of vision and homeland. He saw Lebanon as a message before it was an entity, and he believed that man is its most precious wealth.” He added: "Patriarch Howayek carried Lebanon's cause to the peace conference in Paris, defended his people's right to freedom and dignity, and regained the lands that had been stolen from them by the Ottoman authority." In a related context, Al-Rahi thanked God “for the signs of the success of the visit of the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, to Washington,” asking God “through the intercession of the new blessed one to fulfill your wishes for Lebanon’s good, stability, and reconstruction, and to implement the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel so as to guarantee Lebanon’s sovereignty over its entire territory, its complete independence, its complete liberation, and its permanent, just, and comprehensive peace.” It is noteworthy that Patriarch Elias Howayek is considered the founder of “Greater Lebanon” and one of the most prominent figures in the church and the country. His beatification received a wide public and official presence that reflects the exceptional position he occupies in Lebanese memory.