Youssef Absi

Youssef Absi SMSP[1] (Arabic: يوسف عبسي; Latin: Iosephus Absi; born June 20, 1946, in Damascus, Syria) is the current patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, serving since June 21, 2017.

[1] After the conclusion of philosophical and theological studies at the Major Seminary of St. Paul in Harissa, Lebanon, he obtained a licentiate in philosophy at the Lebanese University, a licentiate in theology at the Institute of St. Paul in Harissa, and a doctorate in musical science and hymnography at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.

He assisted as co-consecrator at the episcopal ordination of Yasser Ayyash, Archbishop of Petra and Philadelphia in Jordan.

His election came a month after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Gregory III Laham.

[2] In 2001, he became president of the Caritas Syria (Commission Commune de Bienfaisance (CCB))[6] and forwards with three full-time members more than 40 projects in Damascus, Aleppo and Hassake.