Hala Fares, Recipient of Three Decorations,

In Recognition of her Generous Contributions in the Humanitarian& Social Spheres

After the decoration she deservedly received in Russia in 2002 and the Saint-Elizabeth Medallion bestowed on her in Paris in 2008, Mrs. Hala Fares, wife of former Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon Mr. Issam Fares, was granted on June 14, 2010, the Patriarchal icon of Our Lady of Qannoubine from H. B.The Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Paris.

In a ceremony held at her residence in Paris during which her husband Mr. Fares was offered the high-level Papal Order from the rank of Commander with star of Saint Gregory the Great on behalf of His Holiness Pope Benedictus VXI, His Beatitude the Maronite Patriarch bestowed on Mrs. Hala Fares the Patriarchal icon of Our Lady of Qannoubine in recognition of her humanitarian and social roles.

Mrs. Fares receives the Patriarchal icon of Our Lady of Qannoubine

The honoring of Mrs. Hala Fares is of no surprise, knowing her persistent achievements in various arenas, and mainly her very generous contributions worldwide in the educational, social, humanitarian, cultural, and artistic fields.

In 2002, during a visit she paid to Russia with H.E. Mr. Fares upon the invitation of H.B. the Patriarch of Moscow& All Russia Alexy II, Mrs. Hala Fares was a recipient of the award presented by H.B. Patriarch Alexy who presented her a decoration in appreciation of her generous contribution in the social sphere.

Patriarch Alexy honors Hala Fares, awarding her for her valuable contributions in the social sphere.

Hala Fares was also decorated in November 2008 in Paris with the Saint-Elizabeth Medallion in acknowledgement of her valuable charitable works. The decoration was presented to Mrs. Fares by the Moscow Friends Club, a non-profit, non-political, independent social structure aiming to assist the economic, cultural, social, and scientific development of the Russian capital and at consolidating and maintaining Moscow's friendly relations with other world's cities.

During the ceremony, the head of the Moscow Friends Club Mr. Egor Sarkesiov, who had come specifically to Paris to attend the event, delivered an allocution in which he declared, ‘Everybody is well aware that Fares had undertaken all these charitable works for the sake of the population with the support and assistance of his respectful wife Mrs. Hala Fares. Upon this, with the blessing of His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Mrs. Fares is decorated with the Saint-Elizabeth Medallion in appreciation of promoting and enhancing the implementation of the Issam Fares Foundation humanitarian, social, and cultural projects’.