ROMANIANS IN BEIRUT - Frere Felician

Frere Felician is the only Romanian priest in Lebanon. He's my age, has the face of an angel and speaks Romanian with that Moldovan accent which made me instantly homesick. Frere Felician Tamas graduated Roman Catholic Theology in Roman, a town in Eastern Romania. I found him last November in Saint Antoine de Padoue church in Sin el-Fil, Beirut. Small Franciscan convent where you can find 7 monks, including Brazilian, French and Lebanese.
Frere Felician has been in Lebanon since 2004. God's will, he says. Otherwise he can't explain it. He knew nothing of Lebanon, besides the verses in the Bible and the cedars of Lebanon. Now he's taking Arabic lessons and has conversations with the soldiers guarding the church. He's there for the Lebanese seeking comfort in God's word. Bu the wants to be there for the Romanians in Lebanon and called them to a Easter service last year. Around 30 people came and Frere Felician was happy.
Being in Lebanon made him understand what brought most Christians closer to the church. "You don't see only women and old people in church. You see also the young. They're going through difficult times, they know what suffering is and this is what brought them closer to God ".