John Helou
| John XI Helou (يوحنا الحادي عشر الحلو) |
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|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
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| Church | Maronite Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Elected | June 8, 1809 |
| Term ended | May 12, 1823 |
| Predecessor | Joseph Tyan |
| Successor | Joseph Peter Hobaish |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 1786 (Bishop) by Joseph Estephan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ghosta, Lebanon |
| Died | May 12, 1823 Qannubin, Lebanon |
John XI Helou (Dolce) (born in Ghosta, Lebanon - died on May 12, 1823, in Qannubin, Lebanon) (or Youhanna Helou, Al-Hilu, Arabic: يوحنا الحادي عشر الحلو, French: Jean el-Hélou, Latin: Iohannes Dolce) was the 67th Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1809 until his death in 1823.
John Helou was born in the village of Ghosta, in the Keserwan District, Lebanon. He was known in Europe as John Dolce, because Dolce is the Latin translation of his surname. John Helou was consecrated titular bishop of Acre on August 6, 1786 by Patriarch Joseph Estephan, and he remained near the Patriarch as auxiliary bishop.
Patriarch Joseph Tyan communicated his resignation to the Maronite bishops on September 24, 1808, which was accepted by the Holy See on November 19 of the same year, and consequently Aloisio Gandolfi, who was appointed Apostolic visitor in the Maronite Patriarchate since 1807, summoned a meeting of all the bishops in Harissa. A short time later, on June 8, 1809, John Helou was elected Patriarch. The formal approval of Pope Pius VII didn't arrive until 19 December 1814, because Pope Pius VII was actually kept in confinement from 1809 till May 1814 by Napoleon.
After the turbulent years in which the previous Patriarch Joseph Tyan supported Napoleon in the Siege of Acre (1799) and came in conflict with the emir Bashir II, Patriarch John Helou chose a low and neutral course of action, and from 1811 he retreated in the Qannubin Monastery, the ancient and abandoned patriarchal residence, located in the deep gorge of Kadisha Valley, which he restored.
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