Akouri Welcomes Maronite Bishop to Detroit

- Troy City Councilman presents Proclamation upon arrival -

(DETROIT, MI)...Farmington Hills City Councilman John Akouri officially welcomed Maronite Bishop Robert Shaheen, Bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles to the Detroit Metropolitan area last night on what is his 12th National Pastoral Visit in just the last five months. A Liturgical Mass was held at the Cathedral of St. Maron Maronite Church in Detroit - site of the first Maronite Cathedral nearly 40 years ago when Arch-Bishop Francis Zayek was appointed to lead and form a US Eparchy. Following the service, a dinner reception hosted by Fr. Ghattas Khoury, pastor of St. Maron's, was held in the Bishop's honor in the Church Banquet Hall.

Akouri, a member of the Parish Council, introduced the Bishop, whom he had recently met with in Washington, DC during the visit of the Maronite Patriarch to the White House. Following the Bishop's remarks to the faithful, Troy City Councilman David Lambert presented Bishop Shaheen with a Proclamation recognizing his Pastoral Visit to Detroit and honoring the American Lebanese Community and the resolve of the Lebanese people. Councilman Lambert also reminded the Bishop that in addition to the large number of Lebanese Americans residing in his city, Troy shares a 'Sister City' relationship with the City of Aley, Lebanon.

Bishop Robert Shaheen was appointed in 2001 as the Second Bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II and ordained by Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and the Entire East.