Life, identity and challenges of Arabic-speaking Christian communities in Israel

Bishop Rafic Nahra is Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Patriarchal Vicar for Israel, based in Nazareth. His present pastoral responsibilities include Arabic-speaking Catholic communities in Israel.

Born in Ismailia, Egypt, in 1959 to Lebanese parents, he grew up in Lebanon before moving to France for engineering studies. He subsequently entered seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Paris on 27 June 1992.

His academic formation includes theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, and Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He completed a doctorate in Judeo-Arabic literature at the Hebrew University in 2016.

He has taught Scripture in Paris and directed the Judaism and Christianity research department at the Collège des Bernardins. His earlier pastoral responsibilities included service among Hebrew-speaking Catholics and among migrants and asylum seekers in Israel.

He became Patriarchal Vicar for Israel in 2021 and was ordained a bishop in Nazareth on 30 April 2022. In 2025, he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculté Notre-Dame in Paris and was appointed a consultor to the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.