The person of Padre Pio, the saint of Pietrelcina, is becoming ever closer to the heart of Lebanese Christians and Muslims. Devotion for this “foreign” saint was celebrated yesterday, Padre Pio’s feast day according to the liturgical calendar, with the inauguration of a “centre for prayer and meditation” in the city of Feytroun (Kesrouan) in the largely Christian north-east quarter of Beirut.
The founder of the centre is a Maronite priest, Charbel Haddad (of the Maronite order of the Blessed Virgin Mary); he enjoys the support of the Bishop Guy-Paul Noujeim, Maronite patriarchal vicar of the diocese of Sarba. The bishop has already registered approval of a “Padre Pio” prayer group, which is linked to the international association of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.
The “Padre Pio” building was inaugurated yesterday by the abbot Semaan Abou Abdou, in the presence of hundreds of Christians and Muslims who came from all over Lebanon.
The abbot underlined the importance of imitating the saint and asked all to pray to Padre Pio for peace in the Holy Land, Lebanon and Iraq.
The prayer centre will also serve as a reference point for charitable and social activities, in which both Christians and Muslims are involved.
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