Lebanon : Help for the chaplaincy outreach in Baabda University

Ever since 2019 Lebanon has been going through one of the gravest economic crises in recent history. Such is the collapse that somewhere between half and three quarters of the population are now living below the poverty line, with even the middle classes suffering extensive poverty. This situation is a result of a combination of factors – structural corruption, political paralysis, a massive financial crisis, successive military conflicts and the permanently overhanging danger of war in the region. On top of all this, the country is also sheltering a disproportionately high number of Syrian refugees in relation to its small population.

All these problems are bearing down on the lives of the ordinary people of the country, a land once known, not so long ago, as the „Switzerland of the East“. It is a crisis with not merely economic but also grave psychological consequences, with despair and apathy spreading widely and in recent years an increase of some 21.7% in the suicide rate.

Most young people in the country can see little future for themselves, with many dreaming of starting a new life for themselves abroad. Many have already left, in fact, or are planning to do so imminently. So the country is yet further weakened, since it is precisely these largely better educated people whom it so desperately needs in order to build a better future. Moreover, it is Christians in particular who are leaving, thereby bleeding away the life of the Christian communities. And this in the one country of the Middle East that for so many years was blessed with a Christian majority.

And so the student chaplaincies in the Catholic universities are working hard to encourage their young students to stay on in Lebanon. Through shared prayer, pastoral accompaniment and fostering a sense of community with other young Christians they are hoping to encourage the students to work together to help shape their society on the basis of their faith.

One such centre is the University of Baabda, in the west of the country and run by the order of St Anthony. With the help of ACN the chaplaincy has intensified its pastoral outreach and developed a special programme. The aim is to listen to the students, counsel and accompany them and so help them overcome their difficulties. Spiritual activities, shared prayer and scripture readings, spiritual retreats and shared outings with a spiritual theme are helping them to live their faith in their daily life and giving meaning and purpose to their lives. The students are also encouraged to develop a sense of social involvement so they can learn to take responsibility for the needier members of society. A further aspect is the vocations apostolate, and the aim is to witness the beauty of consecrated life and priesthood. In this way the team hopes to awaken a sense of vocation among the young people and encourage them to consider committing their lives to the service of the Church.

Father Ruben Makol, the student chaplain, explains, „The principal aim of this programme is to help the young people to have a genuine experience of the Lord and renew the sense of a bond with their Church and their country, so they can build up a sense of living community that will give them new meaning, hope and stability. We are witnessing real transformations among those who are travelling with us. They are more deeply rooted in their faith and showing a renewed and greater motivation for their studies, their future and their involvement in the Church. The sense of community is fostering in them a sense of what many themselves describe as a „second family“.“

Needless to say, the order itself is also heavily impacted by the economic crisis and cannot raise the funds to continue these activities. And so, this year once again, we are supporting this valuable programme, for 300 students. Our benefactors will thus help these young people to discover new hope.