Bishop Gregory Mansour

Father Gregory Mansour was the first priest to whom I spoke when thoughts of entering the priesthood began to torment me. At the time, he was pastor of St. George Maronite Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, not far from my hometown. The Maronite Church is one of 21 eastern Churches in full communion with Rome

Fr. Gregory quickly became a friend and then my spiritual director. He was an invaluable companion on my road to the seminary. My Tuesday mornings were often spent attending the Service of the Divine Mysteries (the Maronite terminology for the Mass) at St. George followed by breakfast and conversation with Fr. Gregory. It did not take me long to realize that in this humble, self-effacing priest I had discovered a true spiritual giant. The more time I spent with him, discovering the incredible riches of Syriac Christianity, the more I discovered that my own mind, my own heart, was far more Syriac than Greek or Latin. I fell deeply in love with the Maronite liturgy and with Maronite prayer and spirituality in general. Perhaps the greatest gift Fr. Gregory bequeathed to me was an appreciation for the awesome writings of the great Syriac poet-theologian Saint Ephrem

Even though he left Uniontown (for bigger and better things!) whilst I was still in seminary, this holy priest has continued to exert a profound influence on my priesthood. His humility, gentleness, compassion, kindness, wisdom, prayerfulness, generosity (to name put a few of his admirable attributes) have left a lasting impression on me. He is without a doubt the person on whom I have most tried - however inadequately! - to model my own priesthood. If I could be one-tenth, the priest he is I would be certain of one day hearing my Lord say to me "Well done good and faithful servant."

On 2 March 2004, at Bkerke, Lebanon, Fr. Gregory Mansour was ordained a Bishop by His Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. On 27 April 2004, I had the privilege of being present at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York as he was enthroned as the third bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn.

Click here for Bishop Gregory's biography

Click here for Bishop Gregory's Enthronement homily

"His Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East"

Eparchy of St Maron in Brooklyn