BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai leaves for Iraq Monday to head a Mass at the Our Lady of Salvation church on the occasion of the first anniversary of an attack that left 58 people dead.
The delegation, scheduled to leave Beirut airport shortly before midday Monday, includes Bishop Camille Zaidan and Environment Minister Nazem al-Khoury, on behalf of President Michel Sleiman.
The Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad came under attack Oct. 31, 2010, which left at least 58 people dead, including two priests, after gunmen stormed the church.
The al-Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgent group the “Islamic State of Iraq” claimed responsibility for the attack.
Rai is expected to hold talks with a number of Iraqi officials before his return home Wednesday evening.
His Iraq visit prompted the postponement by one day of the monthly meeting of Maronite Bishops, which is scheduled to take place on the first Wednesday of every month.