TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Maronite Cardinal Beshara Rai arrived Friday in the northern city of Tripoli to hold an afternoon Mass in celebration of St. Maroun’s Day.
Upon Rai’s arrival around 3:30 p.m., church bells in the city tolled, welcoming the prelate as hundreds gathered to greet the head of the Maronite Church.
Rai, who was recently appointed Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI, held a private meeting with Tripoli’s bishops.
The Mass will be held at St. Maroun Church in the country’s second-largest city.