Participating in the ceremony, along with the families of the graduates, were Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, represented by his deputy Elias Bou Saab, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, represented by caretaker Communications Minister Johnny Crime, President Michel Suleiman, represented by former Minister Alice Chabatini, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, represented by Cynthia Gharib, The Minister of Education and Higher Education in the caretaker government, Dr. Abbas Al-Halabi, represented by Dr. Mazen Al-Khatib, the Minister of Industry in the caretaker government, George Bouchkian, represented by Salim Khoury, the Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour, represented by Benzeh Shamma, the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, Paolo Borgia, represented by Monsignor Giovanni Becceri, President Progressive Socialist Party, MP Taymour Jumblatt, represented by Dr. Nasser Zidane, head of the Phalange Party, MP Sami Gemayel, represented by former minister Alain Hakim, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Dr. Samir Geagea, represented by MP Shawqi Al-Dakash, head of the Free Patriotic Party, MP Camille Chamoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, represented by Representative Nada Al-Bustani, former Minister Suleiman Franjieh and Representative Tony Franjieh, represented by Carole Dahdah, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, represented by Brigadier General Imad Khraish, Acting Director General of Public Security, Major General Elias Al-Bisari, represented by Brigadier General Elie Al-Deek, Director General of the Internal Security Forces, Major General Imad Othman. Represented by the Commander of the Mount Lebanon Region, Brigadier General Jihad Al-Asmar, Director General of State Security, Major General Tony Saliba, represented by Lieutenant Colonel Labib Saad, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John Lebanon Father Michel Abboud the Carmelite, Superior General of the Antonine Order Abbot Joseph Bou Raad, represented by Father Boutros Azar, Superior General of the Sisters of the Two Sacred Hearts Mother Bernadette Rahim, Superior General of the Maronite Maronite Order and President of the Supreme Council of Notre Dame University and the Master Fathers Abbot Edmond Rizk, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Notre Dame University Louaize and members of the council, former Minister Ziad Baroud, the University Alumni Association, in addition to bishops, diplomatic, military, political, party, spiritual, judicial, union, banking, and media figures, heads of municipal and elective councils, and the Notre Dame University family with its administrative and educational bodies.
The meeting began with the singing of the national anthem by the Notre Dame University Choir, led by Father Khalil Rahma, and then the opening speech with the master of ceremonies, the university’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Michel Hayek, after which Abbot Rizk recited a prayer in which he blessed the university, the graduates, and the audience, saying: “How beautiful this meeting is.” Meeting the harvest after tiredness and staying up late, and today is the day of beginnings and holidays, the beginning of the summer season, Father’s Day, and the holiday of music, and today has become your holiday, dear students, and the beginning of a new chapter in your life, and the transition from small exams to the biggest exam: the practical life exam and application. Knowledge and gaining experience with skills.
He continued: “Be certain that you are ready for the work experience and new lessons in life. Be confident in your abilities and that your dreams are on the verge of being realized if you continue striving for them, as you have striven in the past years and are steadfast in your endeavors to reach where you were determined to be. Be as you were raised in the comfort of God.” Our beloved Notre Dame University, open to others, fighting for humanity, striving to face challenges with dignity and honor.”
Rizk concluded: “Our prayer today is that the Lord will protect you from all harm and that the watchful Virgin will accompany you on all your paths. And O Mary, O Lady of Louaize and the patron saint of this university, and the mother of its students, teach them how to serve faithfully and remain loyal to God’s work in their lives, and put me in the heart of these young people.” And young women hope, faith in God, love of the country, and confidence in themselves, so that they do not fear to be what they were given to be: witnesses of goodness, truth, and beauty.”
Boo roared
Then, the Director of Public Affairs, Protocol and Media Relations, at the university, Majid Bouhadir, gave a speech in which he welcomed the guest of honor and the audience, saying: “And with our hearts, today we gather around you, Your Beatitude, your monastic order, with the honorable presence through which the entire Lebanese family is represented, especially your university.” Its branches are in Barsa Al-Koura and Deir Al-Qamar Al-Shouf, so that they can tell you that Lebanon is fine as long as the educational message is fine, and this message is in safe hands, where the captains of educational institutions from schools and universities are grappling with the challenges, and some of them today are paving promising horizons with this university and continuing the path of advancement. Sustainable with the highest international accreditations that Notre Dame University of Louaize has obtained, and he keeps in mind not to compromise on the highest level reached by the University of the Third Millennium, which plants in the souls of everyone who left a mark in its nooks, the seeds of affiliation that turn into belonging, and he is keen to water them. always”.
The priest
Then, Bouhdir introduced the university president, who in turn delivered a welcoming speech to Patriarch Al-Rahi, saying: “Welcome to Notre Dame University, whose family is preparing to receive you, rejoicing in your solemn and generous presence. You have come to witness the graduation of a new group composed of the finest young men and women who show signs of joy and hope while concealing their anxiety and fear.” From an uncertain tomorrow in a country they see as heading to nothingness.”
He continued: “They leave the university holding their diploma in one hand and their passport in the other, and they ask reproachfully: What have you prepared for us to stay? Let us answer today. We want a Lebanon as young as these young people, with a fresh face like theirs, free like their dreams, and high-headed like theirs.”
He addressed the shepherd by saying: “You are at the forefront of us in this celebration, not as a descendant of the Maronite Marian monastic order, the incubator of this university, and not as its founder. Rather, you are here as the supreme leader of the process of preserving the true Lebanese entity, existence, and identity, all of which are in danger, and as the first custodian of our ultimate weapon, which is Education in our schools and universities, as your predecessor, Patriarch Al-Duwaihi – who will be declared blessed on the second of next August – did and taught.
He concluded: “They have sought and are seeking to change the color of life in Lebanon, so work to restore the true Lebanese color to it. If you are forced to emigrate for the purpose of work and education, tell them before you leave that you are returning to rebuild Lebanon. Do not allow your fathers to sell the land of your ancestors, for there you will return and it is waiting for you.” Gather around your church just as your grandfathers and fathers did when the civilian rulers fell, deviated, or weakened. Do not deny the homeland and its history, so that you may remain a homeland and have a future.
shepherd
Bohdir welcomed the guest of honor, Patriarch Al-Rahi, saying: “Every time we gather, rejoice, grow, be proud, and bear witness to the hearth of the future that awaits its guarantee, that is, our young men and women, carrying their deserved certificates, we live with joy. What if today it turns into happiness? Hearts and more, from those present here, where the main campus of Notre Dame University is located in Zouk Mosbeh, and those following across the air in Lebanon and the world, with the exception of the presence of a venerable monk who founded this edifice when our father Bishara Al-Rahi was a descendant of the Maronite Marian Order, which from the heart of its mother monastery on the neighboring hill of Louisa, established Education was compulsory in the famous Lebanese academy three centuries ago, and today we bear witness to this: Your honesty is fine.
After the welcome speech, Al-Rahi addressed the students, saying: “I am very pleased to participate in your graduation ceremony from Notre Dame University, the glorious and dear one. I congratulate you and your family who are proud of you. I congratulate the president of the university, the administration, and the faculty who sacrificed for you and today they are proud of you. Young people, You are the “guardians of the morning” (Isaiah), you are the dawn of new life. We have passed through more difficult circumstances than the ones we are experiencing today, and Lebanon, which is rich in its saints, will not fall, but will remain steadfast with the strength of its Lebanese sons.
He added: “Your university has taken upon itself educational principles, which are: providing quality education in its three branches, then applying the principle of optimal integration for those with educational difficulties, through cooperation with the SKILD Foundation, which is concerned with covering this issue. It also applies the principle of the human dimension through integrated construction.” For the human being, academically, intellectually, scientifically, culturally, athletically, nationally, democratically and spiritually, as well as applying the principle of societal and humanitarian solidarity, Notre Dame University was the first to apply and provide all support, understanding the comprehensiveness of the repercussions of the crisis and applying the principle of openness, by building bridges with the outside world And consolidating the previous bridges, in addition to achieving the effects of the university’s basic mission by building future leaders and youth, is what provided the local and global communities with more than 25,000 thousand graduates, male and female, raising its name and the name of its homeland, Lebanon.”
Al-Rai concluded: “Faced with the reality of continuous deterioration and the proliferation of crises, the university found itself faced with the inevitability of confrontation by playing the role of an absent and absent state. It is true that this general national deterioration poses a great danger to the future of our youth, but the higher education sector has the ability to play the role of defense and fortification. The university is an edifice that attracts all sectors and compositions of society, whether locally or internationally, and this makes it an essential lever for our nation. Today you and the nation are at a fundamental and crucial crossroads. Our decision with you is final and final. Our Lebanon is ours, there is no compromise on its identity and entity, so be among its people. Confidence that your university and your church are always by your side. Your weapons are knowledge, speech, perseverance, decision-making, dialogue and convergence.
The university choir then sang a hymn to the Virgin Mary from the New Testament, composed by William Gomez, under the leadership of Father Khalil Rahma.
In turn, the leader of the course, student Danny Bushbel, from the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Notre Dame University of Louaize, thanked the administration and professors, and said: “While we stand on the threshold of a new beginning, we must remember that this is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. The world is out.” “These walls are full of opportunities and challenges, and we must embrace these opportunities and face these challenges with the same determination and courage that brought us here today.”
He also greeted fathers around the world on the occasion of Father’s Day, and also expressed his gratitude to the Heavenly Father, saying: “I am grateful to God for everything, because I would not be the person I am today without Him. I once read a sentence that affected me and it still resonates with me.” My mind, which is: “When you put everything in God’s hands, you will see God’s hand in everything.”
In conclusion, Father President Al-Khoury presented to Patriarch Al-Rahi a manuscript of the Blessed New Lebanon, Patriarch Estephan Al-Duwaihi, copied before the year 1704 and preserved at Notre Dame University.
Certificates were also distributed to the students and souvenir photos were taken.