Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli
The Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli (Tripoli of the Maronites) (in Latin: Archieparchia Tripolitanus Maronitarum) is a non-Metropolitan Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the Maronite Church in the north-west of Lebanon. It is immediately subject to the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch (not part of any Ecclesiastical province) and the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches. It is currently ruled by Archeparch Youssef Soueif. Its archeparchial (archiepi scopal) seat is the Saint Michael Cathedral in the city of Tripoli (Arabic Tarabulus as-Sam) in Lebanon. Statistics. As per 2014 the archeparchy pastorally served 147,800  baptized Eastern Catholics in 126 parishes and 3 missions with 190 priests (130 diocesan, 60 religious), 206 lay religious (66 brothers, 140 sisters) and 6 seminarians. History. The eparchy dates back to the seventeenth century, but was canonically erected in the Maronite Synod of Mount Lebanon in 1736 as Arch?Eparchy (Arch?diocese) of Tripoli / Tripoli del Libano (Curiate Italian) / Tarabulus / Tripolitan(us) Maronitarum (Latin). Initially it included all the coastal territory from Tripoli to Latakia. Joseph Assemani, Archbishop of Tripoli, attended the First Vatican Council in 1869–1870, called upon by Pope Pius IX. Assemani, of the famous family of Maronite clerics, was  born in Hasseroun on 31 March 1821. Well versed in Italian and Latin, he was sent to Rome to the Pontifical Urban University to study theology and French. He was ordained a priest in Rome by Cardinal Fransoni, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. He returned to Lebanon, where he was appointed confessor to the Maronite Patriarch. He was a professor of Italian, Latin and philosophy before being named Vicar General of the Maronite Patriarchy in Tripoli. He was named Maronite Chorbishop of Tripoli in 1856. With the assistance of the French Consul, Mr. Planche , he was able to obtain from Fuad Pasha a plot of land to establish a Maronite cemetery and hospital. He established in Tripoli the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception, repaired the Church of the Virgin Mary, and obtained an Ottoman firman to build a church in Tripoli, the first of its kind since the Crusades. According to his biography, he suffered numerous vexations while representing the Maronites in Tripoli. In 1860, his home was attacked and pillaged during the night. He was arrested twice and often attacked, before being exiled by the Ottoman governor in 1867. In 1869 he joined  the Maronite delegation attending the First Vatican Council in Rome, serving as the Maronite delegation's official interpreter due to his knowledge of Latin, French and Italian.