Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai received Vincent Gelot, Director of L’Œuvre d’Orient’s office in Lebanon and the Middle East, and an accompanying delegation at the patriarchal headquarters in Bkerke.

The meeting was attended by Mother Marie-Antoinette Saadeh, Superior General of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, and lawyer André Bassil.

Discussions focused on the challenges facing Catholic institutions in Lebanon, including schools, universities, hospitals and social service centers, and the urgent need to support them amid worsening conditions threatening their operations.

Gelot stressed that L’Œuvre d’Orient was established to assist institutions and vulnerable communities, reaffirming the organization’s commitment to ensuring that people in need can access essential services and live with dignity despite regional instability and its repercussions for Lebanon and neighboring countries.

For her part, Mother Saadeh emphasized that Catholic institutions have long served as a source of hope and support for successive generations.

She warned against allowing their humanitarian, social, cultural and educational roles to be weakened or diminished.