by Pascale Rizk
Dimane – On Saturday, July 25, 2026, the Maronite Church and the whole of Lebanon celebrate the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek. The beatification liturgy, presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will be held at the Maronite Patriarchate’s summer residence in Dimane, overlooking the Qannoubine Valley.
Two years ago, the Patriarchal See of Bkerké, the principal residence of the Maronite Patriarchate, hosted the first-ever beatification of a Maronite Patriarch, that of Patriarch Estephan al-Douaihy, on August 2, 2024.
Widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of ‘Greater Lebanon’ and as a spiritual leader who profoundly shaped the country’s history, Elias Hoyek was born on December 4, 1843, in Helta, northern Lebanon, into a Maronite family deeply rooted in the mountain communities where ecclesial life and the bond with the land are inseparable.
At the age of eight, he entered the School of St. John Maroun in Kfarhi before continuing his studies at the seminary in Ghazir. In 1866, Patriarch Boulos Massaad sent him to Rome to complete his theological formation at the Pontifical Urban College of Propaganda Fide. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1870, earned a doctorate in theology on August 9, and soon afterward returned to Lebanon.
Back in his homeland, Hoyek was appointed secretary to Patriarch Massaad in Bkerké in 1872, the institutional heart of the Maronite Patriarchate. During these years he conceived the idea of establishing an apostolic congregation of women religious dedicated to reaching the peripheries of education and healthcare, at the service of the people in the name of the Gospel.
On December 14, 1889, he was consecrated bishop, becoming Titular Archbishop of Araca and Patriarchal Vicar. His ministry combined ecclesial governance the promotion of catechesis and practical concern for Lebanon’s social needs.
In 1895, in Jbeil, together with Mother Rosalie Nasr and Sister Stéphanie Kardouch, he founded the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, the first apostolic women’s religious institute of the Maronite Church. The congregation soon established itself in Ebrine and devoted its mission to education, human development, and evangelization.
The congregation describes its founder as “a man of great character, leader and shepherd of his Church, attentive to the needs of society and constantly listening to his people,” emphasizing his ability to combine firm leadership with pastoral closeness.
In 1908, Hoyek erected the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, where Pope Leo XIV met bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers during his Apostolic journey to Lebanon in November 2025.
On December 7, 1899, Elias Hoyek was elected the 72nd Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, assuming leadership of the Church at a decisive historical moment marked by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the crisis of the First World War, and the rise of new national aspirations across the Levant.
During the famine that ravaged Lebanon between 1915 and 1917, in 1916 he ordered monasteries and convents to open their doors to welcome those who were starving, regardless of religious affiliation. The Ottoman authorities decided to deport him, but the measure was ultimately prevented through the intervention of the Pope and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy.
As a result, the Patriarch came to be regarded not only as the spiritual leader of the Maronite Church, but also as a defender of the Lebanese people and of their dignity.
In 1919, he represented Lebanon at the Versailles Peace Conference, leading a delegation that called for the country’s independence and for recognition of Lebanon’s “natural and historical frontiers,” in accordance with Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
At a time when the project of a “Greater Syria,” backed by King Faisal and the emerging mandate system, Hoyek argued forcefully that Lebanon’s autonomy should be guaranteed in light of the nation’s unique history, culture, and religious composition.
Among the Patriarch’s most significant writings is the apostolic letter “Love of the Homeland”, published in 1930, in which he urged every citizen to assume responsibility for the nation.
“Whether you are humble or great,” he wrote, “you are not permitted to withdraw from the destiny of the Nation and from the progress of the society to which you belong,” linking love of country with justice toward others and commitment to the common good.
In the same text, he added that “those who refuse to help their country sin not only against charity, but also against justice,” insisting that participation in civic life forms part of the Christian’s moral responsibilities.
Read today in the light of his beatification, these words resonate as a renewed appeal for political and social responsibility in a Lebanon that continues to endure years of profound crisis.
On September 1, 1920, from the balcony of the French Mandate headquarters in Beirut, General Henri Gouraud proclaimed the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon, encompassing the mountains, the plains, and access to the Sea. According to historical accounts, Patriarch Hoyek stood at his right, surrounded by dignitaries and representatives of the country’s various religious communities.
That moment gave institutional expression to a vision traditionally summarized in Maronite thought by the triad: “freedom, Lebanon, Patriarchate”, freedom as a non-negotiable value, Lebanon as a blessed land, and the Patriarchate as guardian of the nation’s historical memory and orientation of the people.
Pope Leo XIV’s decision to approve Hoyek’s beatification, following Pope Francis’ recognition of his heroic virtues in 2019, places him among the great Lebanese saints whom the Church proposes as universal models of evangelical life, including St. Charbel Makhlouf.
The miracle recognized for the beatification concerns the healing, in 1965, of Nayef Abou Assi, a Druze officer in the Lebanese Army suffering from a serious spinal illness. According to the testimony, he awoke completely healed after dreaming of the Patriarch.
During the final years of his life, the Patriarch closely accompanied the growth of the Maronite Holy Family, approving their constitutions in 1928 and accompanying his religious “daughters” with words of comfort and encouragement. Hoyek died on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1931, in Bkerké. His remains rest in Ibrine, in the chapel of the congregation he founded, symbolically sealing the bond between his patriarchal ministry, consecrated life, and educational mission.
With the decree of beatification promulgated by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and authorized by Pope Leo XIV on May 22, 2026, the Church formally recognizes the holiness of a shepherd who united love of country, political wisdom, and evangelical commitment to the most vulnerable, at a time when Lebanon still awaits signs of social and institutional renewal and resurrection.
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