On Saturday, March 19, 2022, the friars of the Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land, living in Lebanon and Turkey, joyfully witnessed the blessing of their Saint François d’Assise Church in Zahlé, Lebanon, and the consecration of its altar. This followed the conclusion of the first part of the Custody’s Ordinary Chapter (March 14-18).
The Most Reverend César ESSAYAN, OFM Conv., Vicar Apostolic of the Latins in Lebanon, presided over the Mass and the Rite of Consecration of the altar. Friar César had started construction of the church in 2013, while he was the Provincial Custos. Others present at the Mass included the Most Reverend Joseph SPITERI, Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, and all the friars who had been summoned to Lebanon for the Custodial Chapter. The Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, attended as well, along with the Assistant General for the Federazione Inter-mediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP), Friar Giovanni VOLTAN; the Minister Provincial of the Mother Province of St. Joseph, Spouse of the B.V.M. in Romania, Friar Damian PĂTRAŞCU; and the newly reelected Provincial Custos, Friar Anton BULAI.
Some representatives of the local Eastern Churches were present at the Mass, including the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Antonios AL SOURI, Father Joseph TOPALIAN of the Armenian Catholic Church, and Father Maroun GHANTOUS of the Maronite Church.
The lively participation of the local fraternity and the faithful of the parish made the celebration even more beautiful and heartfelt. The Secular Franciscan Order also helped animate the celebration. Their relationship with the friars goes back to 2010, when the Conventual Franciscans first established their presence in the city. Members of the Franciscan Youth were there as well, providing service at the altar. A three-voice choir, directed by a music professor who attends our church, masterfully sang “a cappella,” giving a touch of grace to the celebration, which included liturgical chant in Arabic and Latin. Among the large crowd of faithful were several benefactors who supported the construction of the church: some with financial help and others with their professional skills as architects and engineers.
The Pastor, Friar Elias MARSWANIAN, coordinated the celebration. At the end of the Mass, he thanked everyone for attending. Friar Elias is a young confrere from Beirut, Lebanon. After completing his studies in Rome, in 2016, he was inserted into the fraternity in Zahlé. Under his leadership, and with help from the small community in Zahlé, the construction of the church was finally completed in 2020. All that remained was the finishing touch: the consecration of the altar and the blessing of the church. This joyful event was put on hold, waiting for the storm of the pandemic to pass. One should mention that the construction of the church, besides being directed by Bishop César and Brother Elias, was also supervised by the Most Reverend Dominique MATTHIEU, OFM Conv., current Archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan. This took place while he was a member of the Zahlé community in 2016-18.
After the Mass, the Guardian of the friary in Zahlé, Friar Iosif PETRILA, invited all the participants for light refreshments in the church courtyard. A fraternal lunch followed, served in the large multipurpose room located under the church.
At around 3:00 p.m., just as everyone was saying goodbye, news came from Beirut’s St. Joseph Hospital that the “patriarch” of the Conventuals in Lebanon, Friar Massimiliano (Antonio Luigi) CHILIN, who had just turned ninety-nine earlier that week, had concluded his earthly pilgrimage. Earlier that morning, when the hospital called to report that Friar Massimiliano’s passing was imminent, Bishop ESSAYAN, together with the Guardian of the Sin-El-Fil friary, Friar Felician TAMAŞ and the Pastor of the church in Sin-El-Fil, Friar Roger KOUYOUMDJI visited Friar Massimiliano and administered the Anointing of the Sick.
Friar Massimiliano had re-founded the Conventual Franciscan mission in Lebanon, having arrived there in 1966, from today’s Italian Province of St. Anthony of Padua (Northern Italy). Moreover, he is also considered one of the founders of the first Conventual Franciscan church in Sin-El-Fil, insisting it be named after St. Anthony of Padua. Friar Massimiliano was also very fond of the new Conventual Franciscan presence in Zahlé, which he saw as a sign of hope for the future of the Order in Lebanon. He was particularly fond of the grotto that was built next to the church in honor of the Madonna. Nearby was a statue of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, the saint whose name he had chosen on the day of his simple profession. He had an intense devotion to Mary Immaculate, St. Francis, St. Anthony and St. Maximilian. They were the primary saints whose guidance he relied upon in his vocational journey and his ministry, a ministry characterized by a great love for our Conventual family. He was in every way a missionary friar, happily faithful to the end (cf. Greetings of the Minister General during the Funeral Mass).
Although the friars of the Custody are saddened by the departure of Friar Massimiliano, they are strengthened by his luminous witness of his life. Thus, in a single day, the friars were able to witness two births: the birth of the newly built church, and the birth of their confrere’s life in heaven. Several friars noticed a number of significant coincidences: Friar Massimiliano went to heaven on the feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of our Order along with the Immaculate Conception. He died in St. Joseph’s Hospital, on the day the altar of the new church in Zahlé was consecrated; a day when, because of the Chapter and the solemn celebration in Zahlé, the entire Custody was present in “his” [beloved] Lebanon, gathered around the Minister General. It seems that there could not have been a better day for this “Cedar of Lebanon,” Friar Massimiliano, to recite his Nunc dimittis, since his “eyes had seen” the fruit of the little sprout he planted with such tenacious hope in the Near East.
The next day, Sunday, March 20, the friars, including Friar Massimiliano’s first disciple and friend, Friar Jalil HADAYA, along with the Minister General, Bishop ESSAYAN, and the local faithful, gathered in the St. Antoine de Padoue Church in Sin-El-Fil to eulogize Friar Massimiliano and give thanks to the Lord for him. Their chorus of voices became a great and grateful Magnificat. Praise be to God and his good and faithful servant!
Friar Andrew Hochstedler
Friar Massimiliano (Antonio Luigi) CHILIN, CURRICULUM VITAE >>>
