Parishes across the Archdiocese of Denver are uniting with our brothers and sisters in Lebanon this weekend through a special second collection meant to help alleviate the suffering of Lebanese Christians affected by the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“There are about 1.5 million refugees who fled from the south of Lebanon to our Christian areas in the mount of Lebanon and the northern side of our country,” Father El-Badaoui Habib, parochial administrator of St. Rafka Maronite Church in Lakewood, wrote in an open letter to Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and the Archdiocese. “Among them are about 150,000 Christians whom their houses were destroyed completely, and their villages were knocked down to earth.
“Over 5,000 people died in the war, and between 15 to 20,000 have been injured,” he added in an interview with the Denver Catholic. Many of those injured have serious, life-altering injuries.
“When the war took place in any quarter of Lebanon, the entire country would be affected,” he continued. Though much of the conflict was confined to the southern region of Lebanon, Father Habib said, “It affected all of us because all those people, they flew from their areas to the safety area. And the safety area is the Christian area because the war is not between Israel and the Christians. The war is between them and Hezbollah, who have become more powerful than the Lebanese army.”
Father Habib noted that hundreds of thousands of people have lost homes and been displaced as a result of the war. Of those refugees, “more than 50,000 Christians have been affected,” he said.
“Those people have left their homes with no clothes, no food, no mattress, no beds or pillows, no medical help, etc.,” Father Habib said in his letter.
“They left their homes and came to the Christian area, to a safe place in Beirut, in the north of Lebanon,” he told the Denver Catholic. “They came to be protected from the war, and they came with no shelters, no food, nothing at all. And we are responsible to help them.”
The mass migration has made a difficult situation even worse, Father Habib shared, emphasizing the country’s economic and political challenges in recent years.
“We have been living with problem upon problem even before this current war,” he said in his letter. “We can hardly sustain our family members who are still residing in the country in ordinary times. These are very difficult days where you see thousands of people on the streets with no shelter or refuge, and we cannot offer them any hope or help for the necessities.”
“Even before the war, we were finding it very difficult to support our own people, our fellow members in Lebanon,” Father Habib explained in an interview with the Denver Catholic. “If a family makes $300 per month, that’s good. But, there is no work. Nothing. When there is war, everything, everything will collapse. And our country from 2019 until now has really collapsed.”
In response to the great need, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila has invited all parishes around the Archdiocese of Denver to hold a special second collection for Lebanon. Funds collected will be distributed in support of the Lebanese Christians displaced by the war through St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Lakewood.
“Everything can help. There is a great need. So whatever people can do to help through the second collection is greatly appreciated,” Father Habib shared. In fact, he and his family are walking the walk themselves, having opened a family home to more than 20 people who have been displaced.
Beyond financial contributions, Father Habib encouraged the faithful to pray for all those affected by the war in the Middle East.
“Prayer is the most important thing. It can help us more than any other thing,” he concluded. “When I talk to some priests in Lebanon, they say without the Lebanese saints, this country would have collapsed a long time ago. What keeps the country going on is St. Charbel, St. Rafka, Our Lady and Jesus. Without them, we have nothing.”
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Faithful across the archdiocese are invited to support the Lebanese Christian community through prayer, fasting and financial contributions. Those interested in supporting financially are welcome to write a check payable to their local parish, with a note in the memo line specifying that the donation is for the poor in Lebanon. These donations will be collected in the special second collection at parishes around the archdiocese and routed appropriately.
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