Bishop Gregory John Mansour

Gregory John Mansour was born on November 11, 1955, in Flint, Michigan, the eldest of six children of George and Gloria (Farhat) Mansour. His ancestors trace their heritage from Ehden, Tibneen, and Damour in Lebanon, from Nazareth in Palestine (now Israel), and from Damascus, Syria. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Education from Western Michigan University in 1977. He entered Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary in Washington, D.C., later that year. In 1981 he received a Post Graduate Degree in Theological Studies (STB) from Catholic University of America. On September 18, 1982, he was ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop John Chedid at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, Flint, Michigan. After studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, he completed his Degree in Spiritual Theology (STL) in 1983. In October of 1983 he became Pastor of Saint George Church in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Between 1987 and 1994 he was responsible for Deacons and Subdeacons in the Diocese of Saint Maron – USA. In 1994 a second Maronite Eparchy, Our Lady of Lebanon, was established in the United States. Bishop John Chedid was made its first Bishop, and he asked Fr. Mansour to serve as the Vicar General, Chancellor and Financial Officer of the new Eparchy located in Los Angeles, California. Father Mansour was ordained to Chorbishop on January 21, 1996, by Bishop John Chedid. Between 1998 and 2001, he attended U.C.L.A. as a graduate student in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures program with special emphasis on Islamic Studies. In March 2001, at the request of Bishop Robert Shaheen, the second Bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, Chorbishop Mansour relocated to Saint Louis, Missouri remaining in his post as Vicar General, Chancellor, and Chief Financial Officer, and assuming the additional role as Rector of Saint Raymond Cathedral. He also taught Spiritual Theology at the Saint Louis Archdiocese Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in 2002 and 2003. In January 2004, Pope John Paul II named him third Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn. Bishop Mansour was ordained in Lebanon by Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir on March 2, 2004, and was installed as Bishop in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lebanon on April 27, 2004. Bishop Mansour has served on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Pro Life, Catechesis, Evangelization, and Family Life Committees, He serves as Catholic Co-Chair of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Dialogue. He had also served as Secretary for Christian Arab and Middle Eastern Churches Together (CAMECT) he was a member of the Board of Trustees for The Catholic University of America, was the Board Chair for Catholic Relief Services, and currently serves on the Boards of Aid to the Church in Need, Caritas Lebanon and Telelumiere/Noursat, and In Defense of Christians (IDC) to support and advocate for persecuted Christians. Bishop Mansour is also an active member of the Maronite Synod of Bishops that meets every year in Lebanon.