Doreen Abi Raad

Maronite Catholic youth were among the teams of Lebanese youth who took the initiative to to clear the wreckage, clean up homes and serve suffering people in affected neighborhoods in the aftermath of the massive blast in Beirut Aug. 4. Father Toufic Bou-Hadir, director of the Maronite Patriarchal Commission for Youth, is the priest pictured with the youth.

Lebanese Youth a Light of Hope in Beirut Blast Aftermath

‘They are the sign of hope for us in this catastrophe,’ said Father Toufic Bou-Hadir, director of the Maronite Patriarchal Commission for Youth.

Doreen Abi Raad World August 25, 2020

TOP: Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour (Our Lady of Jamhour), located in the Beirut suburb of Baabda. BOTTOM: Cadmous College (a preK – 12 Catholic school) in the biblical coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s ‘Pillar’ of Catholic Education at Risk of Collapsing

Lebanon’s longstanding tradition of Catholic schools stems from the Pontifical Maronite College in Rome whereby many Maronite priests, returning to Lebanon from Rome with a zeal for education, in turn opened schools all over their homeland.

Doreen Abi Raad World May 29, 2020

Army soldiers look on as Lebanese anti-government protesters march toward the capital in Beirut's downtown district Jan. 25. The political impasse is worsening an already-dire economic crisis in Lebanon that the World Bank says may see the number of people living in poverty climb from a third to half the population.

Lebanon’s Economic Crisis Worsens

Maronite Catholic archbishop: ‘This is an emergency.’

Doreen Abi Raad World March 3, 2020

Sister Annie Demerjian says, “There is so much suffering.” But faith gives strength as the people heal, with the support of the sisters.

‘We Need to Do Something to Give Hope to Our People in Syria’

An interview with Sister Annie Demerjian of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary

Doreen Abi Raad World February 15, 2020

Lebanese anti-government protesters celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the southern city of Sidon on Oct. 29 on the 13th day of anti-government protests.

The Cry of the People in Lebanon Prompts Largely Peaceful Uprising

In a massive gathering, residents of all religions have mobilized together to demand remedies to the economic crisis and rampant political corruption that afflicts their nation.

Doreen Abi Raad World October 30, 2019

Above, participants in the second Middle East Congress on Divine Mercy (MECOM II) in Lebanon gather at Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa. Highlights of this month’s congress included a procession with and Mass in the presence of the relics of St. Faustina Kowalska, St. John Paul II and Blessed Father Michael Sopocko, the confessor and spiritual director of St. Faustina. Participants also prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the Forest of the Cedars of God. Below, congress participants joyfully gather after praying the chaplet near Becharre, Lebanon; and Sisters Lina and Rima Barakat, Syriac Catholic Ephremite Sisters of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy, from Homs, Syria, also attended. The sisters are twins.

Divine Mercy Ignites Fruitfulness in Prayer Groups Throughout Middle East

Lives have been changed by the devotion given to St. Faustina and promulgated by St. John Paul II.

Doreen Abi Raad World August 31, 2019

Brothers and sisters from the religious order Mission of Life pray at the cross, the final station of the Way of Life hiking path at the order's Village of Peace in Mashraa, Lebanon, which is on a hillside. Below: A sculpture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in the Way of Life hiking path was created by sculptor Nayef Alwan. Also shown: Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics (left), hikes the Way of Life path with Father Wissam Maalouf, founder of the Mission of Life religious order, as youth involved in Youth of Life participate in a July camp.

Village of Peace in Lebanon Makes Faith Come Alive in a Mountain Setting

Catechesis and joy amid God’s creation inspire youth.

Doreen Abi Raad News August 12, 2019

Syriac Catholic Coadjutor Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Semaan celebrates his first Mass as bishop on Pentecost Sunday, two days after his episcopal ordination, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, where he was also ordained a priest in 1991.

Iraqi Archbishop: ‘The Faith Is Alive’ Despite ISIS’ Devastation

Syriac Catholic Coadjutor Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Semaan told the Register, ‘Qaraqosh and all these Christian villages are giving a big witness of their faith, how strong it is. We are here.’

Doreen Abi Raad Interviews July 21, 2019