Lebanese Effort to Build First
Maronite Church Progressing

Baton Rouge includes a large and growing population of Lebanese-Americans many of whom are presently involved in a drive to build Louisiana’s first Maronite Church.  

The movement has advanced to a point where the American Maronite Bishop in St. Louis recently requested that Father Charbel be sent from Lebanon to lead the effort locally.  

The effort by Lebanese-American to build a Maronite Church in Baton Rouge received a strong boost last summer when Father Charbel arrived to lead the effort that has been building for several years. With Father Charbel above is former Louisiana State Attorney General and former gubernatorial candidate Richard Iyoub whose father once led a similar effort in Lake Charles.

“George Kadair led a group of local Lebanese citizens for many years who wanted to get this done,” explained former Louisiana State Attorney General and former gubernatorial candidate Richard Iyoub. “I believe Father Charbel is the key to finally getting a church of our own built here in Baton Rouge.”

Bi-Ritual Priest

Father Charbel is a bi-ritual priest who since 2001 has served both Maronites and Roman Catholics.   His English is surprisingly good considering that he did not speak a word of English when he arrived in Baton Rouge six months ago.  

“Our progress has been somewhat delayed by the fact that I became ill shortly after arriving and had to spend several weeks in the hospital before I could begin my work,” he said.   “Now I conduct mass daily at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church.”

Maronites share the same doctrine as other Catholics, but they retain their own liturgy, theology, spirituality, discipline and hierarchy.   Strictly speaking, the Maronite church is considered, to be among the most Latinised of the Eastern Catholic Churches.  

The head of the Maronite Church is the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch who is elected by the maronite bishops and resides in Bkerke, close to Jounieh, north of Beirut.   When a new patriarch is elected and enthroned, he requests ecclesiastical recognition by the Pope, thus maintaining their communion with the Holy See.   As an Eastern patriarch, he joins the College of Cardinals.

“Bishop Muench has been very supportive and totally cooperative,” said Father Charbel.  

Armenian Church

The Maronites meet each Sunday at the Armenian Church on Florida Boulevard.   There is also a monthly healing mass at Our Lady of Mercy that is very well attended.   On Saturdays there is a special mass honoring the Virgin Mary.   Special Lenten services involving the Stations of the Cross and St. Patrick’s Day are also being observed.   Special masses are celebrated in Arabic during lent on Fridays and Saturdays.  

“Before we met at the Armenian Church we were meeting at St. Agnes Church with Father Bergreen and at St. Patrick’s with Father Martin,” explained Rima (Kalache) Hodgeson whose parents moved to the U.S. from Beirut when she was eight-and-one-half   years old.             

Father Charbel, who holds a doctorate in religious studies, served in Rome for five years and then was an African missionary in Senegal and Dakar prior to his present assignment.   “The first mass I celebrated in this country was at Christ the King on the LSU campus,” he said.   “We dedicated it to George Kadair.”

Father Charbel has never been to a football game, but he has watched football on television.   Richard Iyoub said he looks forward to tailgating with Father Charbel next season.

Waiting a Long Time

Rima Hodgeson explained that Father Jeff Bayhi, who currently serves as Pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Zachary, is also a bi-ritual priest.   “While Father Bayhi was the Pastor at St. Agnes he helped us bring in Father Andre Mouhana who did a fine job on what was just a temporary assignment,” she explained.   “We have been waiting a long time for Father Charbel so we can build a church of our own.”

The Maronites trace their history back to Saint Maroun who was born in the middle of the fourth century and was a priest and later a hermit.   St. Maroun is considered the Father of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church.  

The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Maround’s first disciple Abraham of Cyrrhus, the Apostle of Lebanon, realized that paganism was thriving in Lebanon, so he set out to convert the pagans to Christianity by introducing them to the way of St. Maroun.   The followers of St. Maroun, both monks and laity, always remained faithful to the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Father Charbel explained that in Lebanon there are all sorts of ties between religion and politics.   Under the constitution the president must be Catholic and the prime minister must be a Sunni Moslem.   “This was a compromise reached as part of the settlement following the civil war that occurred between 1975 and 1990,” he explained.  

“The Maronites are known as the Irish of the East,” said Ieoub. “They are fighters for Catholicism.”

Right now the Maronites are looking for property for their church and they welcome all gifts.   Father Charbel is presently living with the Scott Dumite family.   He can be found most days at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on Goodwood Boulevard.