Tens of thousands attend funeral of Maronite priest killed by Israeli strike in southern Lebanon

Tens of thousands of mourners reportedly gathered March 11 in the southern Lebanese village of Qlayaa for the funeral of Father Pierre al-Rahi, a Maronite Catholic priest who died after sustaining wounds from an Israeli tank strike two days earlier while he was ministering to residents. Several Church leaders offered tributes to Fr. al-Rahi, including Pope Leo XIV, who expressed deep sympathies at his March 11 general audience.

Fr. al-Rahi served as pastor of St. George’s Church in Qlayaa, a Christian-majority village of about 8,000 residents in the Marjayoun district, which is near the Israeli border. As Zeale News previously reported, locals said Israeli tank fire struck a home in the village March 9 and injured civilians. Fr. al-Rahi reportedly rushed to the scene alongside local officials and residents to assist the wounded. Then the building was shelled again, leaving the priest critically injured. He later died from his wounds. 

According to reporting from The Eastern Church, the funeral — held at St. George’s Church — drew large crowds of local families, displaced residents sheltering in the village, Maronite clergy from across Lebanon, and government officials. 

The Eastern Church also reported that some parishioners at the funeral said they felt “as though they were burying their own father,” reflecting Fr. al-Rahi’s close pastoral relationship with the village throughout his ministry there.

“He had been, in the fullest sense of the word, a father to this community — present at births and deaths and marriages and crises, walking the streets daily, knowing every name, carrying every burden,” the Eastern Church wrote. “To bury him was to bury something that had been at the center of the community's life.” 

Near the end of his March 11 general audience, Pope Leo reiterated his sorrow at Fr. al-Rahi’s death and recognized the funeral taking place in southern Lebanon. 

“These villages are once again experiencing the tragedy of war. I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial,” the Holy Father said.

He added that Fr. al-Rahi’s Arabic surname fittingly means “the shepherd” in English. 

“Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd,” Pope Leo said. “As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, he rushed to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.”

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land also issued a statement March 11 offering prayers for Fr. al-Rahi and for all communities “suffering from the consequences of the war ravaging the region.”

“We offer our condolences and prayers for the eternal rest of the Maronite priest, Father Pierre al Rai, who died in a bombing in Lebanon while ministering to his parishioners,” they wrote. “May his sacrifice serve as an example and a seed of peace for the entire Middle East.” 

Fr. al-Rahi’s death came amid ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group operating across the Middle East. Since the onset of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Israel has carried out strikes on suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the Bekaa Valley. As a result, nearly 700,000 people across Lebanon have been forced from their homes, and about 570 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to NBC News.

In the hours before he was killed, Fr. al-Rahi said he and other Christians had decided to remain in their village despite Israeli evacuation orders in order to minister to their community and protect their homes.

“Our ancestors paid with their lives to protect [this land],” he said in a March 9 phone interview, according to The Eastern Church. “The children of this land have faced many challenges over decades and overcome them. I said that I encouraged others with my presence, but it is they who encouraged me.” 

Also according to The Eastern Church, Fr. al-Rahi said in another statement hours before his death, “You know we walk the path of the Passion; there is death, and after it, there is resurrection with our Lord Jesus Christ, the victorious, risen from the dead. I am ready to die in my house because this is my house.”

As Zeale News reported, some Lebanese politicians and local outlets said the Israeli strike occurred after a Hezbollah fighter entered the village. Others disputed that claim, including Qlayaa Mayor Hanna Daher, who said he and other residents “don’t know why our village was targeted,” according to AsiaNews. 

“The attack is unclear. Qlayaa is a safe place,” Daher said, according to the outlet.

AsiaNews also reported that Israeli bombings in the region have increased in recent days and have struck civilian homes where locals say there were no Hezbollah fighters present.

One day after Fr. al-Rahi’s death, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, said he asked the Vatican to intervene to help “preserve the Christian presence” in the southern Lebanese villages, Zeale News reported. Raggi said Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, confirmed that the Holy See is “making all the necessary diplomatic contacts” to halt the escalation in Lebanon.