Archbishop Makhoul Farha

Archbishop-elect Makhoul Farha was born in Ras-Baalbek, Lebanon, on 28 December 1959. He entered the Carmelite family in 1974 and gave his solemn vows in 1983. He was ordained a priest on 14 July 1984. He obtained a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University of Rome (1988), and has held various offices in his Order in Lebanon, including: rector of the studentate (1989-2002), provincial counsellor (1996-1999), superior of the Notre Dame du Mont Carmel Monastery in Hazmieh and first provincial counsellor (1999-2002), and provincial superior (2002-2008 and 2011-2017). He has also served as judicial vicar of the apostolic vicariate of Beirut of the Latins (2012-2020), responsible in Lebanon for the Ecclesiastical Tribunal for faithful of Latin Rite (1989-2002) and president of the Ecclesiastical Appeals Tribunal for the Latins (1992-2012), the Chaldeans (1992-2020) and the Syriac Catholics (2000-2002), judicial vicar and president of the Tribunal for the faithful of Syriac Rite (2002-2017), and judicial vicar and president of the Tribunal for faithful of Armenian Rite (2000-2020). He has been a member of the Committees for the Liturgy, the Family, and Canonical Affairs, and the Ecclesiastical Tribunals of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon (1995-2020). Since 2020 he has been the delegate of the Superior General of the Carmelites for Egypt.