NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided today over a celebratory Mass held in Bkirki’s “Chapel of the Resurrection,” marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Papal Mission in Lebanon.

Participating in the Mass was a number of bishops, priests and nuns, the Chargé d'Affairs of the Papal Embassy, ​​Monsignor Giovanni Vicchiari, and Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, the head of the mission, Michel Constantine, and a crowd of dignitaries and believers.

In his sermon, the Patriarch said “the Papal Mission in Lebanon was established and launched 75 years ago, specifically in 1949, at the will of the Honorable Pope Pius, following the Nakba of the Palestinian people...For this reason, he summoned Monsignor Thomas McMahon, Secretary General of the CNEWA Foundation, and informed him of his intention to establish a special mission to Palestine and appointed him as its head, with its goal being to collect donations from Europe and the rest of the continents to help in the Holy Lands in the name of the Pontifical Mission Foundation, with its main headquarters for distributing aid being in Beirut - Lebanon, after which it later established offices in Jerusalem and Amman.”

He explained that the work of the Papal Mission is divided into two main areas: the first being the field of ecclesiastical and pastoral work through the program of supporting seminaries in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Iraq, and supporting religious education institutes that provide correct and effective upbringing for all segments of society. He added that the second area is the field of development work for church institutions to help them improve their performance, as well as parishes, municipalities and regions.

“In response to the call of His Holiness Pope Francis, the Papal Mission is concerned with working through church institutions to spread awareness and help victims of human trafficking at a regional level that is affecting the countries of the region surrounding Lebanon, and protecting minors, the vulnerable, and people with special needs,” al-Rahi added.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44),” cited the Patriarch, assuring that this is “the new social culture that alone an end wars and conflicts, and move in the direction of peaceful negotiations instead of wars of destruction, killing, and displacement.”

“Once again we say: Conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with negotiations. Peace is not only the absence of war, but the act and making of justice, and the fruit of kindness... This is the official and permanent teaching of the Church, and for this reason we cannot accept war, because it is an acceptance of destruction, killing, displacement, poverty, deprivation, and tragedies of the peaceful population, as is the case in Gaza and in southern Lebanon,” affirmed al-Rahi.

He concluded by raising prayers to Almighty God for the elimination of wars and for the Pontifical Mission Foundation to carry on with its development programs.

===========R.Sh.