The ISM was saddened to learn of the passing of Prof. Fr. Elias Kesrouani on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. A Maronite priest, Prof. Fr. Kesrouani was a visiting professor of ethnomusicology at Yale in 2010 and a dear friend of the ISM since 1986. Below is Prof. Fr. Kesrouani’s obituary, kindly translated from Arabic by Dr. Gabriel S. Aydin, the founder and director of the Syriac Music Institute.
“Let your priests be clothed with righteousness and let your saints shout for joy (Book of Psalms 132:9). Maroun Al-Ammar, the bishop and pastor of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon
Father of the deceased: Youssef Salloum Al-Kesrouani (in the diaspora) Antoine Al-Kesrouani, his wife from Al-Helu, and his family/siblings: Maroun Al-Kesrouani, his wife, Colette Dratier, and his family (Abroad) Nabil Kesrouani, his wife Lina Habib, and his family, the late Dr. Charles Kesrouani, his sister: Antoinette Kesrouani, the widow of the late Fouad Al-Tayyar, and her family, and the families of Kesrouani, Waked, Al-Khalo, Dratier, Habib, and Al-Tayyar, and all the people of Sabah at home and abroad, and the residents of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon, mourn to you their dearly departed, whose virtues are mourned, who rests in hope of resurrection.
Professor Fr. Elias Youssef Al-Kesrouani (his mother, the late Saeeda Waked), who passed away to his mercy on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. His body will be transferred to Saint Elias Cathedral in Sidon at ten o’clock in the morning on Friday, September 22, 2023.
Prayer for his repose at two o’clock in the afternoon in Saint Elias Cathedral, the Maronite Archdiocese of Sidon. After the prayer, his body is transported to his hometown, where prayers are performed over him in Saint Elias Church, and he is buried in the family cemetery. Condolences will be accepted before the burial in the parlor of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon and after the burial in the parlor of Saint Elias Church – from morning until 6:00 pm. And on Saturday, the 23rd of this month, in the hall of the Maronite Church of St. George - Chiyah, from 1-6 p.m. Give us, O Lord, holy priests.