Pope Leo XIV prays for slain Maronite priest as he is buried in Lebanon

On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV noted the funeral for Father Pierre El Raii, the Maronite priest who was killed on Monday in southern Lebanon.

The priest died while trying to help his parishioners whose house had been fired upon by an Israeli tank, and structure from the building fell on him. His funeral was taking place in Qlayaa, Lebanon.

“These villages [in Lebanon] are once again experiencing the tragedy of war. I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial,” Leo said.

“In Arabic, ‘El Raii’ means ‘the shepherd.’ Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd,” the pope continued.

“As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, he rushed to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon,” he said.

After his killing, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai said El Rai “gave his life as a testament to love and devotion to his priestly mission.”

RELATED: Pope Leo XIV offers ‘profound sorrow’ for slain priest, all suffering in Middle East

“The martyrdom of a priest dedicated to the service of God and his people, steadfast in his pastoral mission alongside the faithful in times of hardship, is a profound wound in the heart of the Church,” the cardinal said.

The Israeli army has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for a large swathe of southern Lebanon, where large groups of the militant group Hezbollah.

Around 500,000 people have fled their homes, adding significant stress to an already difficult humanitarian situation.

As Hezbollah enters a new round of fighting with Israel just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a November 2024 U.S.-brokered ceasefire, the Iran-backed militant group and political party is facing increasing grassroots discontent within its base and problems with the Lebanese authorities.

On March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran, igniting a war in the Middle East, Hezbollah fired missiles and drones into Israel for the first time in more than a year.

Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs have fled their homes after Israeli warnings that their neighborhoods, towns and villages would be targeted.

The new round of fighting comes as Shia communities that suffered the brunt of the last conflict are still reeling from it. The last Israel-Hezbollah war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused $11 billion in damage, according to the World Bank.

The situation in Lebanon is tied to the joint Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran which began on Feb. 28.

During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo urged people to pray for peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, “especially for the many civilian victims, including many innocent children.”

This article contains material from the Associated Press.