Paul-Mounged El-Hachem


Paul-Mounged El-Hachem is Maronite prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See as Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and as Apostolic Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula. He headed the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek-Deir El Ahmar from 1995 to 2005.

Biography

El-Hachem was born on 8 September 1934 in Aqoura, Lebanon. He was ordained a priest of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch on 28 March 1959. He worked for years in Lebanon.
He studied at the Seminary of Ghazir and went on to continue his education at Carmes Seminary in Paris. El-Hachem has Master's degrees in Journalism, International Studies, and Social Studies. He received a doctorate in theology and Canon Law from the Catholic University of Paris. He speaks Arabic, French, Italian, English, Syriac, Latin, Greek, and Aramaic.
Pope John Paul II awarded him on 11 December 1978 as Honorific Chaplain of His Holiness.
From 1967 to 1970, he served as Director of the Arabic programs for Vatican Radio. From 1970 to 1978, he was an official of the Commission for Social Communications, Vice-Director for the Holy See Press Office. In 1974 he was appointed delegate in charge of the Vatican Film Library.
From 1978 to 1995, El-Hachem worked at the Vatican Secretariat of State. From 1991 to 2004 he was a professor of Islamic Law at the Pontifical Lateran University.
On 30 October 1993 he was appointed head of the General Affairs Section of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
On 10 June 1995, he was appointed Maronite Bishop of the Eparchy of Baalbek-Deir El-Ahmar, succeeding Philippe Boutros Chebaya. Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, consecrated him bishop on 13 September 1995. His co-consecrators were Boutros Gemayel, Archeparch of Cyprus and Roland Aboujaoudé, Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch.
On 27 August 2005, El-Hachem was appointed Titular Archbishop of Darnis and named Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and Qatar and Apostolic Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula. On 4 August 2007 El-Hachem was appointed apostolic nuncio to the United Arab Emirates as well.
He retired when he was replaced in those positions on 2 December 2009.