(OSV News) — A parish priest in Texas has been tapped by Pope Leo XIV to lead Mexico’s Maronite Catholics.
The pope has nominated Maronite Father Milad T. Yaghi as bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico (“Nuestra Señora de los Mártires del Líbano en México”).
The eparchy, established in 1995 by St. John Paul II and covering the whole of Mexico, counts some 200,000 lay faithful and 10 parishes.
Bishop-elect Yaghi succeeds the eparchy’s apostolic administrator, Maronite Father Elie Mikhael, who was appointed in 2024 by Pope Francis.
News of the bishop-elect’s appointment was publicized Oct. 12 in Washington by Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., who made the announcement since Bishop-elect Yaghi currently serves within his jurisdiction.
About the bishop-elect
A member of the Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries — which he entered at age 13 in 1977 — Bishop-elect Yaghi has served as pastor of Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Mission for more than three decades.
Having completed his studies at the Collège Des Apôtres and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, both in Lebanon, Bishop-elect Yaghi was ordained to the priesthood in 1988. He then attended the University of Strasbourg, where he obtained a master’s degree in Catholic theology, and was appointed assistant pastor for a parish in Metz, France.
In 1991, then-Father Yaghi was sent to San Antonio, Texas, to serve while also traveling to Houston to celebrate Mass. He eventually relocated to Houston to, as his parish biography notes, “embark on a challenge and personal dream of building a church.”
Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Mission rapidly expanded under his leadership from several families to some 250. According to the mission’s website, there are currently over 700 families registered to Our Lady of the Cedars, which the mission states is “the second largest Maronite parish in the United States.”
Eparchy receives news with joy
In a Facebook post about the Oct. 12 announcement, the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico expressed its joy, saying, “Let us rejoice and give thanks to God for our new Eparch (Bishop).”
The Mexican Bishops’ Conference also joined the eparchy in prayer, saying in a social media post: “We wish Bishop Milad Tannous Yaghi a fruitful ministry in the new episcopal responsibility that the Lord has entrusted to him.”
The Maronite Catholic Church is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that, along with the Roman Catholic Church, comprise the universal Catholic Church.
According to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association — a papal agency serving the churches and peoples of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe — both the U.S. and Latin America are home to flourishing Maronite communities, with more than 1.3 million Maronite Catholics in Latin America alone.
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
