Vincentians pray in war-affected church

Lebanon experienced a terrible civil war between 1975 and 1990, but the conflict left its mark and, according to many analysts, lasts until today in the country. During this period, one of the targets was St. Vincent de Paul Church, located in the center of the capital Beirut. Destroyed, it was left without activity for a long time. But a group of young people from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul decided to resume activities in the church. In the last two years, they have done some activities at the spot. Last March 23, they had an hour of prayer in the temple, praying for peace and love.

The action is part of the strategy to found an SSVP Conference in Beirut Center, as there is currently not one in the area. Indeed, it was precisely in this Church that, decades ago, the first Conference of Lebanon was founded. So the Vincentians are seeing this movement as a way of relaunching the Vincentian mission in the region.

“Praying in union, we can recover what Frederic Ozanam would have liked: to unite people in a network of charity and care and spread it to all people,” said Said Safar, national youth coordinator for the SSVP of Lebanon.

He also says the group is praying for donors willing to help rebuild the church. At the www.stvincent-lb.org site you can contact them to help.