Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros Rai kicked off Sunday the second day of his pastoral visit to the Maronite diocese of Zahle, where he led the prayers at St. John Paul II Church at Zahle’s Maronite Archbishopric, in the presence of Bishop of Zahle Joseph Mouawad, bishops Hanna Alwan and Tanios al-Khoury as well as other priests, monks and nuns from the Bekaa region.
Following the mass, Bishop Mouawad thanked Rai for his pastoral visit, stressing its importance for the region’s residents, who consider the Patriarch as a good shepherd.
In turn, Rai expressed gratitude to the people of the Bekaa for their hospitality, noting that “the Church is perfectly fine because it stands by the citizens and plants hope in their heart so they can withstand the storm, through which Lebanon is passing.”