Patriarch Rai visits the region of Zahle

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai kicked off on Saturday morning his tour to the region of Zahle by visiting the Maronite Diocese of Zahle.

He was received by MPs Elie Marouni, Joseph Maalouf, Assem Araji, Antoine Saad, Emile Rahme,  and Ziad al-Kadri, former Minister Salim Warde, former MPs Khalil Herawi, Salim Aoun and Bishops Mansour Hobeika and Georges Iskandar.

For his part, MP Elie Marouni called on Lebanese leaders to hold a dialogue table, urging them not to relate the formation of a new government with another Lebanese pending issue.

As for Future bloc MP Jamal Jarrah, he stressed that Patriarch Rai is keen on building a stable Lebanese state, noting that legitimate weapons must be in the hands of the Lebanese Armed Forces only.

At 71, Rai was elected Patriarch of the Maronite Church on the 15th of March 2011, after obtaining more than two-thirds of the votes of the 39 bishops and replacing Nasrallah Sfeir.

The Mass for the inauguration of his Patriarchate took place on the 25th of March 2011, in Bkerké, the see of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate.