Story updated Aug. 21 to include details of the Canadian government matching donations to Lebanon.
Story earlier updated to include details of a Prayer for Lebanon event Aug. 7 and the Canadian bishops sending a letter of condolences and prayers to His Beatitude Mar Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch.
“A battlefield without war.”
That was Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi’s description of the scene of a devastating explosion Aug. 4 at a port in Beirut, Lebanon.
In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Catholics with ties to the Middle Eastern country are reeling in shock at the devastation and joined in prayer with the people left to mourn and rebuild.
“Look at the photos, you won’t believe it,” Dr. Nick Kahwaji, honourary consul of Lebanon in Vancouver and a member of St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Parish in Burnaby, told The B.C. Catholic.
“We lived in Lebanon during the war, the explosions, the destruction, but never had this much destruction in a few minutes. It’s really terrible.”
At press time, reports showed the blast killed hundreds, wounded at least 4,000, and left more than 200,000 people homeless as glass windows and door frames shattered, businesses were flattened, and homes were deemed unsafe to live in. Many people are without electricity.
Kahwaji said while some churches and church-owned hospitals have been seriously damaged, including the local cathedral, St. Dimitrios, St. Nicholas, and St. George Hospital, others have stepped in to fill the void. Catholic churches outside the explosion zone have opened their schools and auditoriums as temporary housing.
He feels blessed that his family escaped the damage. One of his cousins works in the area, but had clocked out at 5 p.m. The blast happened just after 6 p.m.
Father Gabriel de Chadarevian, assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver, moved to Canada from Lebanon in 1975 but maintains strong ties with his country of origin and visits once a year.
He said the tragedy comes at a terrible time for the Middle Eastern country, which has recently been hit hard with civil protests and demonstrations, high unemployment rates, hyperinflation, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just 24 hours after the blast Father de Chadarevian already received many questions from local Catholics looking to donate to relief efforts. Papal charities in Canada including the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and Aid to the Church in Need are currently responding to the crisis.
In the aftermath of the explosion, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada launched an emergency appeal to respond to the short- and long-term needs of the most vulnerable populations in Lebanon affected by this tragedy. The government of Canada quickly followed announcing it will match donations made by individual Canadians to the Humanitarian Coalition and its members, between Aug. 4 and 24, up to a maximum of $8 million. Through its membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Development and Peace is participating in the Humanitarian Coalition appeal to support people of Lebanon through this crisis. All individual donations to Development and Peace marked for the Beirut explosion emergency response will be matched. Click here to donate.
Father de Chadarevian is also teaming up with Father Paul Goo of Vancouver’s “Virtual Parish” to host a Prayer for Lebanon event online. They invite all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Vancouver to join in praying the Rosary for those affected by the explosion Friday, Aug. 7, at 9 p.m. via live stream.
With COVID-19 restrictions on groups larger than 50 people still in effect, they hope an online event will encourage more people to participate. Father de Chadarevian will lead the first decade in Lebanese.
“Lebanese Catholics are very devoted to the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Lebanon,” he said.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, of Vancouver visited Lebanon two years ago and released a statement. “With the faithful of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, I reach out in solidarity to our beloved members of the Chaldean, Maronite, and Melkite Greek Catholic communities as we look with shock and grief at the devastation that has taken place in Beirut,” he said Aug. 5.
“As the country responds to this disaster, I assure you of our prayers for consolation and healing, for you, and for the victims and their loved ones.”
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to His Beatitude Mar Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, conveying condolences and prayers. In the letter, CCCB President Archbishop Richard Gagnon said, “the Catholic Bishops of Canada, your brothers in faith, stand in prayerful solidarity with you and your people as the rescue and recovery efforts continue.”
The bishops of Lebanon have called for a day of prayer and fasting this weekend and Pope Francis has asked for prayer as well, asking that Lebanon “may face this tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the serious crisis it is experiencing.”
There were actually two blasts at the port in Beirut Aug. 4. The first was located at a fireworks warehouse, and the second, which sent powerful seismic waves across the region, was said by Lebanese president Michel Aoun to be caused by thousands of tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse nearby.
Father de Chadarevian believes the stockpile of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material, has been there since 2013 and the devastation is “probably due to crass criminal negligence” by port authorities and levels of government. The impact of the second explosion was felt as far away as the island nation Cyprus, more than 200 kms away.
Kahwaji suspects a majority of the thousands of victims of the blast are Christian.
“I mean, it doesn’t matter, they are human beings, but if you want to be precise, mostly Christians, because the side facing the explosion, it’s a Christian area.”
One video recorded during a livestreamed Mass in a Maronite parish in Beirut shows the drama rapidly unfolding as the ground begins to shake, the electricity suddenly cuts out, then the stained glass windows are flung from their frames as the priest runs for cover.
The death toll is climbing as emergency responders seek people trapped in the rubble.
“It’s so sad, so sad.”
