With the faithful of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, I reach out in solidarity to our beloved members of the Chaldean, Maronite, and Melkite Greek Catholic communities as we look with shock and grief at the devastation that has taken place in Beirut.

I remember well my visit to Lebanon with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association in 2018. As the country responds to this disaster, I assure you of our prayers for consolation and healing, for you and for the victims and their loved ones.

Pontifical aid organizations like CNEWA and Aid to the Church in Need are already responding to the disaster and are appealing for prayers. Should you wish to reach out to them financially, you may do so at their Canadian websites acn-canada.org and cnewa.org/ca.

In addition, the Canadian government is matching donations to Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, which has an emergency appeal to respond to the short- and long-term needs of the must vulnerable populations in Lebanon affected by the tragedy. Through Development and Peace's membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank as part of the Humanitarian Coalition, all individual donations marked for the Beirut explosion emergency response will be matched until Aug. 24. Click here to donate.

J. Michael Miller, CSB
Archbishop of Vancouver

Pray for Lebanon

Father Gabriel de Chadarevian, assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver, is teaming up with Vocations Vancouver and The Virtual Parish to host a Prayer for Lebanon event online. They invite all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Vancouver to join in praying the Rosary for those affected by the explosion. Father de Chadarevian will lead the first decade in Lebanese.

Photo: CNS photos / Mohamed Azakir, Reuters