Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Patriarch Bechara Peter Cardinal Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, will be leading a prayer service for peace in the Middle East on Monday, June 27, 2016 at 6:00PM. The event will take place at the Church of the Holy Family, 315 East 47 Street, in Manhattan. Cardinal Dolan and Patriarch Rai will both speak during the service. The purpose of the service is to pray for peace and demonstrate solidarity with those most affected by the violence in the Middle East
Cardinal Dolan also serves as Chair of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association ("CNEWA") and traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan with a small delegation to offer support to the internally displaced families and refugees in the region, in April 2016. CNEWA partners with the Catholic Eastern Churches to promote humanitarian and pastoral initiatives throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe.  Patriarch Rai resides in Lebanon and has been active in the cause of peace through inter-religious dialogue and leadership in the war-torn region. While in New York, Patriarch Rai will be the guest of Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron in Brooklyn
The prayer service is open to people of all faiths.