Henri Boulad

Henri Boulad studied at Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, University of Chicago and Saint Joseph University of Beirut. The recorded working language is French, Arabic and German. The field of work recorded is mysticism, creative and professional writing and vibhuti. Places of work recorded in the authority are Lebanon and Hungary. Positions recorded include vice president and rector. Distinctions recorded are Commander of the French Order of Academic Palms.

• Honorific Prefix — The Rev. • Honorific Suffix — SJ • Birth Name — Henri Boulad • Born — 28 August 1931 • Birthplace — Alexandria, Egypt • Died — 14 June 2023 • Place of death — Cairo, Egypt • Religion — Catholic • Occupation — Priest, author

Henri Boulad was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 28 August 1931. His father came from a Syrian Christian family originally from Damascus, but settled in Egypt in 1860. The Boulad family belongs to the old Damascene bourgeoisie and has produced many clerics including Father Abdel Massih (Damascus) and Father Antoune Boulad (Monastery of the Holy Savior, Lebanon). In 1950, Boulad entered the novitiate of the Jesuits in Bikfaya, Lebanon. From 1952 to 1954, he studied at the Collégiale Saint-Michel de Laval (France), then, from 1954 to 1957, he studied philosophy at the Jesuit scholasticate of Chantilly, Oise, still in France. He taught for two years at the Collège de la Sainte Famille in Cairo. After a cycle of theological studies (from 1959 to 1963 in Lebanon), he was ordained a priest according to the Melkite rite. In 1965, he participated in a Jesuit training program in Pomfret, Connecticut and obtained a PhD in School psychology from the University of Chicago. Boulad returned to Egypt in 1967. He later became the religious superior of the Jesuits of Alexandria, then the provincial of the Jesuits of the Near East, and professor of theology in Cairo. In 2004, he became rector of CSF of Jesuits in Cairo. Boulad was strongly committed to serving the poor, Christians and Muslims, a commitment that continued with his involvement in Caritas. From 1984 to 1995, he was director of Caritas Egypt, and president of Caritas North Africa and Middle East. From 1991 to 1995, he was Vice President of Caritas International for the Middle East and North Africa. In 2007, he wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI entitled SOS for the Church today, which was published in 2010. He called for a revamp of the Church and proposed a theological and catechetical reform, a pastoral reform and a spiritual renewal, which should be discussed at a synod of the world church. In 2010, he urged Europe "not to lose its soul". As a fine expert of Islam, which he has lived with since childhood in Egypt, he was very critical of some of his contemporary orientations, while insisting that the dialogue between Christians and Muslims must continue, but not in its current form, which he argued is only lies and compromise, and therefore is not dialogue and exasperates it. Defender and human rights activist, he was a privileged observer of the Arab Spring, and particularly the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. He called on the West not to give in to cynicism, to support people's aspirations for freedom, and not to ally themselves with religious fundamentalists. Boulad published nearly 30 books in 15 languages, particularly in French, Arabic, German and Hungarian. Boulad was promoted to the Commander of the Order of Academic Palms. In 2017, he received Hungarian citizenship and praised Hungary's current policy of defending traditional Christian communities in Europe and elsewhere as a sign for the future. In 2019 he received the Hungarian Order of Merit. Boulad died on 14 June 2023, at the age of 91.