Pope Leo XIV has expressed his sorrow over the death of a priest in southern Lebanon, a victim of an Israeli bombing on Monday, March 9. “Pope Leo XIV expresses his profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East these past few days, for the many innocent people, including numerous children, and for those who were helping them, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa,” reads a statement released by the Holy See Press Office.
The pope, the Vatican message added, “is following the events with concern and prays for a swift end to all hostilities.”
El Raii, a Maronite parish priest in southern Lebanon, was killed in a bombing while going to the aid of a parishioner wounded in a earlier attack, according to Father Toufic Bou Merhi, a Franciscan of the Custody of the Holy Land, who spoke with Vatican media.
“Deeply disturbing reports indicate that a parish priest in southern Lebanon was killed in an Israeli attack. Father Pierre Al Rahi was ministering to his grieving parishioners in the village of Qlayaa when it was attacked,” the organization said in a statement.
The French Catholic organization L’Œuvre d’Orient (The Work of the Orient) strongly condemned the attack and warned of the growing risk to the civilian population.
“L’Œuvre d’Orient condemns in the strongest terms these acts of war, which aim to destabilize all of Lebanon and kill innocent civilians. The death of a priest who refused to abandon his parish is a further escalation of senseless violence,” it said.
The attack occurred around 2 p.m. local Beirut time, exactly one week after the start of the intensification of Israeli bombing in the south of the country.
“There was an initial attack that hit a house near his parish, wounding one of the parishioners. Father Pierre rushed to his aid with dozens of young people. It was then that another bombing occurred at the same house. The priest was wounded,” recounted Bou Merhi, parish priest of the Latin communities of Tiro and Deirmimas.
The priest was taken to a local hospital but died shortly afterward.
El Raii was 50 years old and considered a leading figure for the Christians in the area. According to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), armed militants had entered the Qlayaa-Marjayoun area, as well as the nearby villages of Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel, endangering previously safe communities.
GRIEF AND FEAR IN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
The priest’s death has deeply affected the local Catholic community, which was already living under increasing pressure from the conflict.
“They are weeping over the tragedy and, at the same time, are very afraid. Until now, people didn’t want to leave their homes in Christian villages, but in this situation, everything has changed,” Bou Merhi said.
The priest explained that for many, leaving their homes practically means “living on the street or trying to rent a house, but people can’t afford it.”
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED PERSONS
The conflict has also caused a serious humanitarian crisis. Bou Merhi reported that the Franciscan convent in Tyre is currently sheltering some 200 displaced people, all of them Muslims.
“We are taking them in. Where else can those in need find refuge in this situation?” he asked.
He explained that in Beirut alone there are nearly 500,000 displaced people, while almost 300,000 have fled the south of the country and thousands more have left the Bekaa Valley.
“People know what they are leaving behind: their homes, their belongings, their history. But they don’t know where to go. Many are sleeping in their cars or on the streets. We were not prepared to take in almost a quarter of the population,” he said.
Despite the circumstances, the Franciscan friar affirmed that the Christian communities are striving to maintain hope. “We say, and we repeat, that the last thing that must not die within us is hope in the Lord, who always gives us the strength to continue,” he stated.
“As the pope has said, weapons do not bring peace; they bring massacres and hatred. All we ask is to live with a little dignity,” he concluded.
