Nassar adds Saydet AL Khalas Church to religious tourism map

The third phase of the "Restoration of Historic Churches Project" in Lebanon, implemented by the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in cooperation with the Pázmány Péter Catholic University and funded by the Hungarian government was launched on Thursday.  

During the ceremony, Dr. Ghada Karam read the Caretaker Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar's speech, in which he expressed that religious tourism had witnessed rapid development in the world and Lebanon has always been a place of refuge and spiritual retreats due to the diversity of its religions and sects, which explains its richness in unique religious sites.  

Additionally, in 2019, the Vatican designated Lebanon as a destination for religious pilgrimages, which immensely helped achieve the goal of the Ministry of Tourism to make modern religious pilgrims discover the same sanctuary in the beauty of the country of holy places by protecting and promoting them as religious tourist destinations.  

During the speech, Nassar stated that the "Hungary Helps" project aims to support the local Christian people and young people working in various fields. This aid encourages Christian entrepreneurs to support Lebanese Christians to help them overcome the economic and social challenges they face due to the deteriorating financial situation.  

On this occasion, and based on the Ministry's continuous work to enhance Lebanon's position as a tourist, religious and cultural center, Nassar announced that the Ministry of Tourism has decided to include the Saydet Al Khalas church in Jeita on the map of religious tourism and promote it on all sites as a spiritual tourist site, hoping that the scope of these cultural, tourism, heritage, and archaeological projects will expand to include other sites throughout Lebanon.  

It is noteworthy that the "Restoration of Historic Churches Project" aims to restore 63 churches in Lebanon and was launched in 2018. During its first and second phases, the restoration operations included 33 churches, while the third phase, which is currently underway, will consist of 30 churches.