Letter from the Rector
“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness”.
I find in these words of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI a summary of what it means to be Christian in today’s world. We are called to deny ourselves and carry our crosses in a world that is drifting away from God, and people are falling away the faith. Carrying the cross means loving as Jesus loved, and committing to changing and saving our broken humanity and world fulfilling Jesus prayer “your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”. We, Maronites, taking pride in what our Ancestors have accomplished, strive to keep the legacy of St Maron upheld in an apathetic world. Thus, we continue to believe that the kingdom of God will come…
Our Clergy
Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan
Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan was ordained priest on July 20th, 1986, appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles on July 10, 2013, ordained bishop on September 28, 2013.
Fr. Elias Sleiman, MLM
Fr. Elias Sleiman was ordained as priest on March 15, 1998. He was officially assigned as Rector of Our Lady of Mount Lebanon on October 23, 2013.
Fr. Etienne Hanna, MLM
Fr. Etienne Hanna was ordained as priest on July 18, 2020. He was officially assigned as Associate Rector of Our Lady of Mount Lebanon on November 13, 2020.
Fr. Albert Constantine
Fr Albert Constantine was ordained as priest on August 24, 2013. He is the Chancellor of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles.
Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon
Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon now has over 900 registered families with Sunday attendance of over 300 families for Mass on Sundays. The Children’s Program has continued to grow over the years and with about 115 children with Religious classes, Arabic Classes, dabke and the yearly summer Camp. The Cathedral is working harder to reach out to all of its people and is positioning itself for future growth. The Community places its full trust on God asking for His blessing and mercy.
The history of the Maronite Church in the United States
The Maronites were named after St Maron (AD +410); Maron was a monk and a hermit who led a life of prayer and solitude on Mount Cyrrhus near Antioch. His followers were called “Beit Maroun” or the people of Maroun, they founded a religious movement called the Maronite Catholic Church. The Maronites established themselves in the mountains of Lebanon giving witness to the Faith of their founder. During the suppressing Ottoman rule, many Maronites left the Near East seeking a better life. Some of the immigrants came to Los Angeles and established a church in 1923 under the leadership of Father Paul Meouchi who later became Patriarch Paul Peter Meouchi (+1975). Since then, the Maronites strive to keep the flame of St Maron’s Faith lit in the sunny California.
You are the light of the world, let your light shine before men.