Pope Leo XIV expressed “profound sorrow” this week after a Maronite Catholic priest was killed in southern Lebanon during an Israeli strike, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate along the border.
The priest, Fr. Pierre al-Rahi, was killed March 9 in the village of Qlayaa near the Israeli border after rushing to help parishioners wounded in an earlier attack, according to Catholic officials.
In a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff said he was grieving the victims of recent violence across the region.
“Pope Leo XIV expresses his profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East these past few days, for the many innocent people, including numerous children, and for those who were helping them, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa,” the Vatican said. The statement added that the pope is “following the events with concern and prays for a swift end to all hostilities.”
Al-Rahi, a parish priest serving the Maronite Catholic community in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon, was reportedly assisting wounded villagers when the fatal strike occurred.
According to accounts from Catholic sources in the region, an Israeli tank shell first struck a house in the village, injuring residents. Al-Rahi and several neighbors rushed to help those wounded in the attack when the location was struck again.
The priest was seriously wounded and later died in a nearby hospital.
L’Œuvre d’Orient, a French Catholic organization for Eastern Christians, confirmed the priest’s death and condemned the violence in a statement. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need said al-Rahi had been ministering to distressed parishioners when the strike occurred. “Very disturbing reports that a parish priest in southern Lebanon has been killed in an Israeli strike,” the organization said in a statement, asking the faithful to pray for the slain priest and for peace in the region.
Al-Rahi, who was 50 years old, had reportedly refused earlier calls to evacuate the village despite the growing conflict in southern Lebanon. “We are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully,” the priest said in an interview just one day before his death. “None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love.”
The killing comes as Israel has intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, southern Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley in an effort to dismantle the Iran-backed militant group’s military infrastructure.
Hezbollah fighters have frequently operated from populated areas, including villages in southern Lebanon, leading to increasing danger for civilians caught in the crossfire. The violence has tragically fueled a growing humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in southern Lebanon, joining hundreds of thousands of displaced people seeking shelter elsewhere in the country.
Al-Rahi was widely regarded as a respected figure among local Christians for his dedication to the people of his parish and his decision to remain with them during the fighting. The pope’s statement concluded with a prayer for peace, reiterating the Vatican’s call for an end to the violence that has devastated communities across the Middle East in recent days.
