Al-Rahi to Join College of Cardinals in Vatican Ceremony Attended by Suleiman, Top Officials

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will on Saturday become the fourth patriarch from Lebanon to be appointed as cardinal in the Catholic church during a ceremony at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI will appoint al-Rahi and five other non-European prelates at St. Peter's Basilica where they are given red hats and gold rings.

President Michel Suleiman, who arrived in Rome at the head of a delegation on Thursday night, met with al-Rahi and several other Lebanese bishops, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said the patriarch thanked Suleiman for attending Saturday's ceremony and the president in his turn lauded al-Rahi's role in serving the Maronite church and Lebanon.

Other delegations led by top Lebanese officials, heads of parliamentary blocs and expats will also join the ceremony that would allow al-Rahi and the five other non-European prelates to join the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals, the elite body that advises the pope and elects his successor upon his death.

NNA also said that around 1,500 Lebanese residing in Lebanon, and expatriates will attend the event.

"By convening this little consistory I wanted to complete the one held in February in the context of a new evangelism... showing that the Church belongs to all peoples, speaks all languages," Benedict told bishops last month.

"It is not the Church of one continent but a universal Church," he added, rebuffing some critics who claimed he was being too Eurocentric, after naming 22 new cardinals in February, 16 of whom are Europeans.

In addition to al-Rahi, the new cardinals will be the American James Michael Harvey, India's Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, Nigeria's John Onaiyekan, Colombia's Ruben Salazar Gomez and Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines.

After the new consistory, there will be 62 European cardinals eligible to vote compared to 67 in February, as well as 14 North Americans, 21 South Americans, 11 Africans and 11 Asians.

Al-Rahi was named patriarch last year to succeed Nasrallah Sfeir – also a cardinal - who resigned after serving for 25 years as head of the Maronite church in Lebanon.