Funeral in Qlayaa, South Lebanon, for Father Pierre el-Raï, killed in Israeli artillery fire on March 11, 2026. (Credit: Tea Ziade/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday paid tribute to Father Pierre al-Rai, the parish priest of Qlayaa, killed Monday by Israeli artillery fire in the Christian village in southern Lebanon.
Recalling that “Rai” means shepherd in Arabic, the pope said during the weekly general audience at the Vatican that “Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always remained by the side of his people with the love and sacrifice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd,” as reported by the Vatican on its website.
The pope also emphasized that, “as soon as he learned that some parishioners had been injured by Israeli shelling,” the priest had “rushed to help them without hesitation.”
“May the Lord make the blood he shed,” prayed Pope Leo, “a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.” “I am close to all the Lebanese people in this time of grave trial,” said Leo XIV, the fourth pontiff to visit Lebanon, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, 2025.
He also remembered the Christian villages of South Lebanon that “are once again, these days, living through the tragedy of war.”
In a statement Tuesday, he expressed his “deep pain for the victims of the bombings of these last days in the Middle East, for the many innocents, including many children, and for those who were helping them, such as Father Pierre al-Rai,” according to the Holy See press office.
He also said he is following “what is happening with concern,” saying he is “praying for all hostilities to cease as soon as possible.”
According to local media, the priest was killed while he was trying to help parishioners whose house had been targeted by an Israeli tank.
The pastor rushed to the house located in the mountainous area of his parish, accompanied by several young people, when the tank struck the house again, wounding the priest. He was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Three days before his death, the pastor had taken part in a gathering in front of a church in Marjayoun where several dozen residents declared their determination to remain on their land, despite threats from the Israeli army.
“When we defend our land, we do so as pacifists who carry only the weapons of peace,” Rai said at the time. He called for Marjayoun to be considered “a red zone”— that is, a place that should not host displaced people from the region who are supporters of Hezbollah.
Convey of 'l’Œuvre d'Orient' organization in Qlayaa
The funeral of Father Rai took place shortly after the arrival in the village of a convoy from the "l’Œuvre d'Orient" organization, which assists Christians in the Middle East.
Our journalist covered this initiative, which included the apostolic nuncio, Monsignor Paolo Borgia, the Maronite patriarchy, and the president of Caritas Lebanon, Father Samir Ghawi.
Rodolph Haykal, commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army, also arrived by helicopter. However, the presence of MP Elias Jarade, a figure from the 2019–2020 Lebanese protests, was poorly received by local residents, who forced him to leave.
All these figures attended the farewell mass for the late priest and paid tribute to him. Hundreds of residents were present, many in tears, chanting “samidoun” ('we resist'), declaring that they refused to leave the village.
Asked by L’Orient-Le Jour, Vincent Gelot, project officer for "l’Œuvre d’Orient" in Syria and Lebanon, said that the organization had initially planned this convoy to the South to send a convoy of humanitarian aid, especially food for two or three weeks and hygiene supplies, as soon as the offensive began on March 2.
The project was coordinated with the late priest of the Qlayaa parish, Rai, before he was killed in an Israeli strike.
“We realized that people would be isolated. The idea was to send supplies because the residents chose not to leave their villages,” added Gelot, noting that a similar initiative had already been carried out during the previous war, in the fall of 2024.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 570 people, including 86 children and 45 women, since the country was drawn into the regional war on March 2, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday.
According to the same source, 84 people were killed in a single day on Tuesday. According to Tuesday evening’s figures from Lebanese authorities, the war in Lebanon has also caused 753,000 displaced people.
Hezbollah opened a support front with Iran on Monday, March 2, two days after the start of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, during which the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei was killed.
The Hezbollah rocket salvos on northern Israel triggered new, very violent airstrikes in several of its strongholds, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, South Lebanon, and the North Bekaa. This escalation ended the cease-fire of November 2024.
Reporting by our journalist Tea Ziade.
