I dont know how its going to end

The conflict in Lebanon preoccupies the seminarian Elias, who has been living in the Tarbes-Lourdes diocese for two years. Between prayer and worry, he observes, from the Bigorre region he has adopted, a war that has already displaced 1.2 million people.

“I was born into the civil war.” So for Elias, the peace that this seminarian has found in the Tarbes-Lourdes diocese is more than spiritual. However, he looks concerned and worried about what is currently happening in the Middle East, from the attacks and invasion of part of his country by Israel, “a very complicated situation.”

During a stay as a chaplain in 2023, Elias was captivated by the Bigorre region, integrating into the diocese in September 2024, first in Bagnères, then as a seminarian at the parish of Saint-Antoine in Tarbes, where this 36-year-old former agronomist cultivates fruits and vegetables from his country in the garden behind the church. A rural and mountainous land inhabited by genuine people that attracted him. “In Lebanon, I come from a town located in the mountains. I love this rurality, this relief, this territory. I have many farmer friends here. There is something, a philosophy that appeals to me here. It was a calling for me to be a missionary in this diocese, after a discernment process.”

In this Catholic family, he is not the only one who embraced the priesthood, guided by his older brother in the country. His parents, five siblings, and twelve nieces and nephews still live there. Where his grandfather decided one summer, he converted them to love France. “Charles de Gaulle, highly respected in Lebanon, spent three months in our village of Kleiat. He bought cheese from my grandfather, who kept some and passed on a very strong attachment to France to us.”

Feeling good at the foot of the Pyrenees, Elias admits, “When we are far from our country, it is always worrying. We sensed this war coming when Hezbollah supported Gaza. It has been months of conflict. This is the toughest of all wars. Israel occupies Southern Lebanon with 1.2 million displaced people already. These people are deprived of their lands without a real refuge. There is a serious precarity. It was a real catastrophe even before a large part of Beirut was destroyed. For now, my region is calmer because there are many Christians. But it’s a huge sadness to see these children, these women being killed. We also fear supply problems, in food, in medication, especially for children. And my real risk, my fear, is that Israel will hunt down Hezbollah leaders who have found refuge in these quieter lands and cause collateral victims. I really don’t know how it will end.”

“I pray for them, for my country”

He also fears that tensions will persist inside the country and lead to a civil war. “Yet Lebanon is a beautiful country, it thrives on tourism as soon as there is peace. Even the basketball championship, the number one sport, had resumed and united everyone.” Without “destroying itself,” Elias, staying close to his brothers, says he is “very concerned for his family, his friends. I pray for them, for my country. It is not only about the war but even deeper than that. But I need balance. I have my life in the Bigorre region. Going back? My vocation is here where I feel good.”

So Elias hopes for a better future, “even if what is happening today doesn’t encourage it. It’s a complicated situation, linked to Hezbollah’s intentions. The most credible and enduring perspective would be a broader agreement, involving Iran in particular. But when we see how Israel acts, occupying lands, bombing a whole building housing civilians for one person, it’s madness. When we see all this time, all this money invested in destruction, we could do so many other things.”