A Testimony: Mons. Boulos Emile Saadé, Maronite Bishop of the Batroun Diocese (Lebanon)

date: 25.05.2007.

Mons. Boulos Emile Saadé, Maronite Bishop of the Batroun Diocese in the Lebanon visited Medjugorje on a private pilgrimage from the 8th to the 14th of May, 2007. He accompanied a group of pilgrims along with the Association “Friends of Mary Queen of Peace” from Beirut. Mons. Boulos Emile Saadé was ordained a priest in 1958, and consecrated bishop in 1986. He is in charge of the Batroun Diocese in the north of the Lebanon since 1999. This is what he said:

“In my diocese, 95% of the population are Maronite Christians. There is a small Muslim minority and also a small orthodox minority. We are a very old Church, which has always been faithful to Rome and to devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Middle east, we have been persecuted for centuries now, ever since the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. Saint John Maron, the founder of the Maronite Church, lived in Syria, but as a result of the conquests, he withdrew with his faithful to the mountains of Lebanon. The persecutions continued, and the only protection has always been that afforded by the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the past, our Patriarchs had no established dwelling, moving from place to place, all the time establishing places of devotion to the BVM. All the residences of our bishops are consecrated to the BVM.

Our relationship with Mary is very emotional. For us, she is very important. Prayer to the BVM is an old Maronite tradition. Everywhere in Lebanon, there are grottos where we venerate her. There are no places of apparition in Lebanon, but we like to say that this is not at all surprising, because she is with us all of the time! The fact that we have kept our faith in spite of fifteen centuries of persecution is Our Lady’s work. We have hundreds of martyrs… we have always lived in fear, and even today we live in fear that Lebanon may become an Islamic state, despite the fact that almost 50% of the inhabitants are Christians. We are against emigration. There are about 500,000 Lebanese abroad while there are about 1,500,000 in Lebanon itself.

Medjugorje reminds me of Lebanon. They are very similar. In our country, when people go to work, they go with the Rosary. We are a Marian people. We came here to pray with the people here, to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for peace everywhere, here, in the Lebanon and throughout the whole world.”