A Maronite organization in Lebanon reported that Father Rabia Tehumi, a priest who was surprised by the strong explosion that occurred this Tuesday in Beirut (Lebanon) while celebrating Mass, is fine.
This August 4, the population of Beirut was surprised by explosions in the city's port. According to authorities, the origin of the first explosion was an unguarded shipment of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.
So far, the tragedy has caused more than 130 deaths and more than five thousand injuries, in addition to material damage in the city.
During the explosion, the vicar of St Maron parish in Baouchrieh, Beirut, Fr. Rabia Tehumi, was celebrating Holy Mass that was broadcast live on social media, when he was hit by one of the windows that fell from the structure of the church. church.
According to the Weekly of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, Father Tehumi, the parish priest Father Marwan Moawad were present during the liturgy and some faithful.
"At first, those present thought it was a power outage, so the priest continued the celebration. "Suddenly, there was a bigger explosion and stained glass was thrown from the windows," he said.
The Spanish Twitter account of the Maronites in Lebanon reported that Father Tehumi is fine, despite the blow and scare he received from the events of Tuesday afternoon.
"The priest is fine. Thank God. Just a small blow and the scare," they noted in the publication.
The parish shared photos of the state of the church on its social networks and indicated that the structure has suffered extensive damage from the force of the explosion, which broke the windows and iron doors.
"We thank God who protected those who were in the church from a disaster," he said.
In addition, he asked for prayers for the injured, for the families and for the people suffering due to the coronavirus that has also hit Lebanon.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has more than five thousand infected with COVID-19 and 68 people have died from the disease.
The Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Bishop Béchara Boutros Raï, and the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon, Bishop Joseph Spiteri, visited the parish on July 5 to verify the damage caused by the explosion.
Minivideo of the inspection tour of the damage from the explosion of the port of Beirut and its suburbs, by Patriarch Rai and the Apostolic Nuncio of Lebanon.
- Maronitas (@maronitas_es) August 5, 2020
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 a>pic.twitter.com/NbtAEJ4zBw
