Beirut (AsiaNews) – It may only be a small project, but laying the first stone last Saturday of a centre for children with special needs in Bsharri (24,000 inhabitants) is a major deed for those who, conscious of its great importance, undertook it despite their limited means.
The facility is the flagship project of the Bishop Philippe Chebaya Foundation, which is named after a priest who served as public school principal in Bsharri for 40 years before he was ordained as bishop.
A priest running a public school is something unique in Lebanon, an anomaly that stems from the distance between Bsharri and Beirut, but above all from the fact that Father Philippe always refused payment for his work as principal. During the critical period of war and the Syrian occupation, he made the school his monastery, where he slept and ate.
When one considers this, it is no wonder that he is revered as a saint by generations of villagers who owe him their education and social advancement. Indeed, all of Bsharri cherishes the memory of this man who knew how to be strict, but whose ultimate kindness and smile quickly erased the memory of the frowns a school principal sometimes has to display.
The project's small size does not contradict his generosity. Jesus himself teaches us this with “the widow's mite”. Leo XIV recently praised what, however small, unites goodwill and contributes to the unity of the human community.
Henri de Lubac spoke of the "unknown saints" to whom the Church will not offer veneration, but whose existence "helps to ensure that our world is not a hell."
“Greater Lebanon”, whose birth was mentioned during Patriarch Hoayek’s beatification ceremony, is one of the smallest countries in the world.
The project will enrich a Maronite stronghold located in the heart of the northern part of the Mount Lebanon range. This small town is known for its ancient cedar forest and as the birthplace of the poet Khalil Gibran, a place also chosen by the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa to sow seeds of holiness.
The project is funded by the German government and the children's relief (Kindermissionswerk) association, Die Sternsinger (The Star Singers).
Despite his age, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi graciously travelled to the site to sprinkle holy water on the ground and walls under construction, and to bury in one of its future halls, along with a precious relic of Saint Charbel, whose birthplace, Bkaa Kafra, is visible from its windows, the four volumes of a catechism that Father Philippe wrote for his students, the only bequest he left behind.
"This land is holy." Walking along a dirt path that winds through an orchard, I slow my pace to catch up with the woman who just spoke. We walk single file toward an open, grassy area where chairs were neatly arranged, and where speeches would be given. “This breeze, too, is the breeze of Father Philippe,” she added.
In his address, Patriarch al-Rahi referred to Father Philippe, with whom he had a close friendship, as a saint. He did so in the manner of a time before the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints existed, when the sensus fidelium (the meaning of faith) was sufficient to define a deceased person as such.
The patriarch also spoke tenderly of the little “words of God”, the children with Down syndrome, who live in their flesh, throughout their lives, the redemptive sufferings of the Saviour.
The centre will be able to accommodate about 50 children. Joseph Chebaya, nephew of Father Philippe, who heads the foundation, will work to complete it thanks to donations he collects from various sources.
The Bishop Philippe Chebaya Foundation hopes it will serve as a beacon for all the villages surrounding the magnificent Holy Valley, the Qadisha Valley, to which it is dedicated.
The sun sets, and the mountain peaks surrounding Bsharri are draped in purple, mauve, and pink.
In her address, the Chargé d'Affaires of the German Embassy, Yasmine Raya, kindly said that she hopes to return to the site once the building begins to welcome those for whom it is intended. This is an elegant way of telling its founders that her country's support will continue until the completion of the work and beyond.
