Vatican City, Jul 10, 2013 –

On July 10, 2013, Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop, Father Abdallah Elias Zaidan, to replace Bishop Robert J. Shaheen as bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, one of the two Maronite Catholic territories in the United States.

While the Eparchy was originally established in Los Angeles in 1994, its seat was moved to St. Louis in 2001 with the approval from the Vatican.

Bishop Zaidan was born in Kosaybé, Lebanon, on March 10, 1963. He is a member of the Congregation of Lebanese Maronite Missionaries and has served as the pastor of several parishes in the United States since his ordination on July 20, 1986.

In addition to English, he speaks Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish and Syriac.

As shepherd of the Our Lady of Lebanon Eparchy, Bishop Zaidan leads now more than 40 Maronite Catholic Churches in the United States, 39 priests, 8 permanent deacons and 15 religious.