Patriarch al-Rahi meets Mexican president

Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi on Wednesday met Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa at the presidential palace in Mexico City on the third day of his pastoral visit to the country. The religious leader is on a trip to visit the Lebanese community in Mexico, estimated to be more than 750,000 in number, a mixture of ethnic Lebanese and descendants of Lebanese origin, 90 percent of whom are Maronite Christians. The world's richest man, Mexican telecom honcho Carlos Slim Helu, is of Lebanese origin. The Patriarch also met the ruler of Mexico and its government head Aabrard Marcello who gave him an honourary medal.