In Bkerké, the beatification ceremony of the prelate who built the country in the 17th century by shaping the Maronite Church took place. In his homily for the beatification, Mgr. Semeraro quoted Benedict XVI before the political authorities: “May Lebanon remain a place where men and women can bear witness to the communion between peoples, regardless of their political, community or religious sensitivities.”
Beirut () – In the person of Patriarch Estephan Douaihy, the Maronite Church has beatified a “pillar” and a model of pastoral charity. The rite was celebrated yesterday, August 2, the anniversary of his birth, during a solemn evening ceremony at the Patriarchal See of Bkerké. Buried with others in 1704 in the cave of Saint Marina, deep in the Holy Valley, north of Lebanon, the remains of Patriarch Doueyhi were transferred in 2008 to the church of Saint George in Ehden, his hometown, which yesterday could not contain its joy. There, the tomb of the new blessed can be visited, whose feast day was set for May 3, the day of his death. And it was in Ehden that the miracle recognized by the Vatican for his beatification occurred, when he instantly cured a woman suffering from seronegative polyarthritis.
The beatification Mass was concelebrated by the Maronite Patriarch, Béchara Raï, and the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Monsignor Marcello Semeraro, who had come from Rome for the occasion, in the external courtyard of the patriarchal seat, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000 faithful.
“The life of the new Blessed marks a turning point in the history of the Maronites. It is the moment when they stop receiving and start giving,” Father Youhanna Geha, a monk of the Lebanese Maronite order, told . Chosen for his intellectual precocity to study at the Maronite College, the boy, who was only 11 years old when he arrived in Rome, had an impeccable academic record. At the end of his studies, he was asked to stay in Rome. Many older men at the Maronite College had succumbed to the temptation of staying in Europe, in the service of the great universities or the princely and royal courts,” writes historian Tanios Noujeim. He insisted on returning to his land and his community.
With Douaihy, the Maronite East opened up to the West, without merging with it or becoming “Latinized”. From him, and thanks to countless works, the Maronites traced their history, including the succession of patriarchs, which dates back to Antioch and to Saint John Maron (7th century). Thanks to him, schools were opened and churches were built. Thanks to him, the three Lebanese monastic orders were born. Thanks to him, the Maronite Church would put its liturgy, its music and its songs in order. Thanks to his influential action, the Lebanese Synod of 1736 recommended compulsory education for boys and girls. By building his Church, he built Lebanon,” commented Monsignor Gianpaolo Rizzotti, head of the office of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The life of this man of God, elected patriarch when he was only 40 years old, victim of the vicissitudes of a Mount Lebanon dominated first by the Mamelukes and then by the Ottomans, and stumbled into the local internal dissensions of the time, is studded with miracles of tenacity and supernatural help. The one most cited by the faithful is the one that allowed him, at the age of 18, to recover the use of his eyes, worn out by reading, an illness that would force him to interrupt his studies and return home. It was the Virgin Mary who restored his sight, in exchange for a vow, which he hid from everyone and maintained “in the simplest way in the world,” according to him, for the rest of his life. It is said that he recovered his sight so miraculously that he was able to read by moonlight.
The homily for the beatification Mass, delivered in French by Monsignor Semeraro, did justice to this scholar and pastor of exceptional stature, who was patriarch of his community for 30 years. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints placed particular emphasis on his pastoral qualities, commenting on the Gospel of the Good Shepherd, which had just been read by Archbishop Maroun Nasser Gemayel, author of a biography of the new Blessed: “Was it necessary – asked Msgr. Semeraro – to specify that the Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep? I think so. The prophet Ezekiel had already spoken of prophets who, instead of caring for the flock, are shepherds for themselves. Unfortunately, these things continue to happen today. There are people who, instead of serving the common good, think of their own well-being. This is why Jesus speaks of the good shepherd. We are good when we nourish in our hearts the intention to do good and then we really do it, through appropriate choices and behavior – he continued -. Jesus, however, goes further and our Blessed truly imitated him. He was a shepherd who suffered for and with his flock. He did everything possible to defend it, protect it and make it grow.”
In the front row, in the space reserved for the ceremony, were present Prime Minister Nagib Mikati, the commander of the army, General Joseph Aoun, and several political and administrative figures: they could clearly hear these words, which underlined the abnormality of the current situation in Lebanon, plagued by corruption and bad governance, without a president and embroiled in a war it does not want.
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints completed the message by quoting some words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI: “When he came here to Lebanon, he remembered that the interior of the Temple built by Solomon was furnished with cedar wood,” recalled Monsignor Semeraro, “Lebanon was present in the sanctuary of God. May it remain a place where men and women can live in harmony and peace with one another, to give to the world not only the testimony of the existence of God, but also that of communion between men, whatever their political, communal or religious sensibilities.”
A message that could not be more timely in a country where political differences have prevented the election of a new president of the Republic since October 2022 and which risks being caught in the maelstrom of a regional war that threatens to break out day after day.
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