Patriarch Elias Howayek
The Patriarch Elias Howayek (1843-1931)
1843: Born in Hilta.
1851: Joined Saint John Maroun School in Kferhi.
1859: Joined Ghazir seminary.
1866: Was sent to Rome by Patriarch Boulos Massaad to pursue his studies.
1870: Was ordained on the fifth of June.
1870: Obtained his PhD in theology on the ninth of August and came back to Lebanon.
1872: Was nominated secretary of Patriarch Massaad in Bkerké.
1875: The idea of founding an Apostolic Feminine Religious Congregation began to take shape in his mind.
1889: Was consecrated Bishop on the fourteenth of December, Archbishop of honour of Araka and Patriarchal Vicar.
1892: Was sent by the Patriarch to Istanbul and the Sultan greeted him with due honors.
1893: Represented the Patriarch in Rome during the Jubilee celebration of the Great Pontiff. He established in Jerusalem a Patriarchal seat.
1893: Met Mother Rosalie Nasr in Kfifane.
1895: Founded the Congregation of Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family with Mother Rosalie Nasr and Sister Stéphanie Kardouche in Jbeil.
1896: The new Congregation settled in Ebrine.
1896: Went to France accompanying with him his niece, later Mother Josephine, so as to pursue her studies.
1897: Took over the management of the Maronite school in Rome at the request of Pope Leo XIII.
1899: Was elected Patriarch on the seventh of December.
1899: Was informed of Mother Rosalie Nasr’s murder on the night of August 22nd -23rd.
1908: Erected the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa on the third of May.
1913: Consecrated the Holy Family Chapel in Ebrine.
1915: Met Jamal Bacha in Sofar.
1916: Ordered the opening of monastery doors for starving persons of the war.
1919: Presented Lebanon in the League of the Nations, claiming independence for Lebanon after wining all Lebanese trust.
1920: In his presence, General Gourot proclaimed the State of Greater Lebanon on the first of September.
1927: Was informed about the death of the Second Superior General, Mother Stephanie Kardouche.
1928: Approved the Constitutions of the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family.
1931: Published his apostolic letter “The Love of the Homeland”. Rested in peace on the twenty-fourth of December, on Christmas Eve.
A few months before his death, he wrote in his last letter to his daughters the sisters:
“Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of all consolation. God Who consoled us by establishing this Congregation and causing it to grow thanks to His particular Providence, lavishing on us the pleasure to see it with our own eyes, working tirelessly so as to satisfy Him and fulfill His Will”.
A man of great personality, head and pastor of his Church, sensitive to the needs of the society, constantly listening to his people, so was Patriarch Howayek whose memories and presence will never fade.