Lebanon Travel Diary - Day 5

The picturesque Beqaa Valley, known as Lebanon’s breadbasket, has been hit hard by regional tensions. While Hezbollah strongholds in Shi’a-majority areas have been heavily targeted, Christian villages have largely remained untouched by direct conflict. Many local residents like Naddaf, a Christian widow in her 70s, have risked their own safety to help others.

Seated next to an icon of St Charbel in her living-room, Naddaf recalled what happened in October 2024: “One day a car parked just outside in the street. Then another car arrived, followed by another.”

Naddaf, the Christian widow who provided shelter to three displaced Shi’a families in her home.

Naddaf welcomed three displaced Shia Muslim families – 12 people in total – into her modest home, feeding them, clothing them and giving them a place to sleep for two months. A pregnant woman gave birth during that time, bringing the number of guests to 13.

Naddaf had no way of knowing who these people were. When asked if she had been afraid to share her home with so many strangers, she simply said: “I did what Christ asked me to do,” adding, “the courage came from the Virgin Mary.”

ACN helped Naddaf and other Christians in the region to bring God’s mercy to those in need by providing emergency food aid and hygiene kits.

We also visited the convent of the Sisters of Jesus Abandoned, a religious congregation founded in 2011. The Sisters teach in Catholic schools in predominantly Shi’a areas, offering catechesis to Christian pupils and lessons in ethics to Muslim children.

Sister Maggie revealed that “many Muslim families choose Catholic schools for their children because of the academic excellence and moral values they offer”. The Sisters’ commitment to education helps to build bridges, fostering peace and understanding between different religious communities.