On Sunday, May 12, 2019, Maronite faithful worldwide mourned the passing of Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, 76th Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant, who entered eternal rest at the ripe age of 98.
A state funeral was held on Thursday, May 16, with the attendance of top spiritual and political leaders from Lebanon and various countries and thousands of faithful. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I took part in the service and conveyed his condolences to the current Patriarch, His Beatitude Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.
On behalf of the Western Prelacy family, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, sent a letter of condolence to His Excellency Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, Eparch of the Maronite Church of the Western United States, in which he recalled the late Cardinal as a devout, humble, and true servant of our Lord, an unparalleled leader who served with utmost faith, integrity, courage, and conviction during the most tumultuous years of Lebanon’s modern history, and a symbol of independence, peace, and coexistence.
May his soul rest in peace.