Bishop’s Dinner scheduled for Sept. 5

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — Bishop Gregory John Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn will be the keynote speaker at the Sept. 5 Bishop’s Dinner, which benefits the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Bishop Mansour will speak on “Going Out of Our Way in the Service of Christ,” a theme that was inspired by the example of Bishop Oscar A. Solis, he said. During his talk, Bishop Mansour will share stories of individuals he has met who exemplify serving the Savior in ways that may be uncomfortable, he said.

“The message we have is so beautiful, but it’s a little uncomfortable,” he said. “In the society in which we live today we prize comfort, but we have to find a way, like Our Lord did, to reach others but at the same time realize that there’s going to be some resistance.”

He will also speak about Lebanon and the country’s importance to his faith. “Our Maronite patriarch 100 years ago reached beyond his own comfort level to include a Lebanon that is Christian and Muslim, not just an enclave of Christians,” he said.

Bishop Mansour was born into the Maronite rite but was raised in the Latin Church because his hometown of Flint. Mich. did not have a Maronite church, he said. In 1973, when he was 17, a Maronite priest was sent to Flint. As a result, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John Chedid at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, Flint, on Sept. 18, 1982. He received a bachelor’s degree in health education from Western Michigan University and a degree in spiritual theology (STL) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He was ordained Chorbishop of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Eparchy on Jan. 21, 1996, by Bishop John Chedid. 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 said he rarely accepts speaking engagements because of his schedule, but could not turn down the invitation of his friend Bishop Oscar A. Solis, whom he has known since 2004 when they were together in “bishop school” – the Vatican’s annual course of formation for new bishops, he told the Intermountain Catholic.

“I found in him the example of someone who reaches out beyond their comfort zone in order to serve,” he said of Bishop Solis.

Bishop Mansour was impressed that Bishop Solis accepted the invitation of Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who visited Salt Lake City in 2017, to go to Lebanon – which he did the following year. Bishop Mansour also invited Bishop Solis to serve with him on the board of Catholic Relief Services and he accepted.

Bishop Mansour last came to Utah in the late-1990s, when he visited the Maronite parish of St. Jude (then located in Murray). He is looking forward to returning in September to be part of the upcoming Bishop’s Dinner, he said.

Along with hearing from Bishop Mansour, those who attend the bishop’s dinner will view a video produced by cathedral staff. This year’s video will have interviews with Father Martin Diaz, rector of the cathedral, and others on the subject of kindness.

Patricia Wesson, the cathedral’s director of development, was inspired to choose this topic for the video by the One Kind Act a Day signs popularized by a Semnani Family Foundation initiative, which she had seen throughout the community, she said. “I built on that because it was the opportunity to both talk about it within the Catholic community and also outside of it. We all need to be kind to others.”

The goal for this year’s dinner is $385,000. Those funds will be used for the preservation of the cathedral and to establish an endowment to help ensure the future of the cathedral.

WHAT: Bishop’s Dinner, a Benefit for the Cathedral of the Madeleine

WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 5, 6-9 p.m.

WHERE: The Grand America Hotel, 555 S. Main St., SLC

COST: $200/individual seat; tables of eight available

A social hour in the courtyard will precede the dinner. Visit thebishopsdinner.org for reservations or information.