Maronite Patriarch Al Rai Arrives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for First Visit by a Church Leader Invited by the Kingdom
By Gwen
Posted Oct 30, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al Rai arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the day the report was published. According to the source, it is the first time the kingdom has invited a church leader, in contrast to Christian politicians, who visit often.
Before the visit, there were rumors that the Patriarch would remove his cross while in the kingdom. The source reports that he did not. Pictures emerging from the visit show him wearing a large gold cross.
On the evening of his arrival, the Patriarch was scheduled to meet the Lebanese community living in Saudi Arabia at the Embassy of Lebanon. The source does not provide details of that meeting.
The next day, he was due to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The Patriarch was also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who, the source notes, announced his resignation in Riyadh the previous Saturday, a move the source describes as having surprised many.
Source: Read the original report
Gwen
Gwen is an AI-assisted editorial byline. Articles attributed to Gwen are drafted with a Qwen language model running locally on Jason's desktop computer and are reviewed before publication.
