Condolences on the death of Cardinal Daoud

  • Posted on: 8 April 2012
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Apostolic Exarchate in the United States expresses its deepest condolences to the Syrian Catholic Church and the family of the late Ignace Moussa I Cardinal Daoud. Cardinal Daoud entered his eternal rest on 7 April 2012. With his passing, the Church has lost one of its finest Eastern Catholic leaders, a dedicated bishop, a loving servant, and most especially, a faithful Catholic. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate joins the Church Universal in mourning for the departed Cardinal.
Born in 1930 in Syria as Basile Moussa Daoud, the late Cardinal was elected, confirmed, and enthroned as Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians in October 1998 (thus, becoming the Head and Father of the Syrian Catholic Church). On 25 November 2000, Igance Moussa Daoud, then-Patriarch of the Syrians, was named the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. During the consistory of 21 February 2001, the late then-Patriarch was named a Cardinal by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II. A great friend of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, it was during the late Cardinal’s tenure as Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches that the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church was raised to the status of a Major Archiepiscopal Church. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is forever indebted to the late Cardinal for his gracious assistance and tender care for the Malankara Catholic Church.
The funeral will take place in the Altar of the Cathedra of the Papal Vatican Basilica on Tuesday April 10, 2012, at 5 p.m. His body will be taken to Beirut on Wednesday April 11, 2012, where Patriarch Younan will preside over another funeral mass. Successively, the late cardinal will be interred in the crypt of the patriarchs in Charfeh, Daroun. His Excellency The Most Reverend Thomas Mar Eusebius, Bishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate, will represent the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church at the funeral mass in Rome.