Fr Youssef Semaan, the Maronite parish priest of Kfour, watches on as the conflict in Lebanon empties his village and threatens decades of coexistence between Christians and Muslims. The war in southern Lebanon is damaging more than just infrastructure, as it causes profound changes to the social relations and human fabric of communities where Christians and Muslims have traditionally lived side by side, according to statements given to the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The moving testimony of Fr Youssef Semaan and his vocation
The priest’s own life story is deeply intertwined with the violence that has historically marked this border region. His father, Khalil Semaan, who was also a Maronite priest —since married men can be ordained in the Maronite Catholic Church—, was kidnapped in Kfour on 2 December 1987 during the Lebanese civil war while on his way to celebrate Mass. He tragically died following several years in captivity, and his body was returned to his family in 1991, during a time when Lebanon was being torn apart by several armed groups operating in the south of the country.
However, this incident did not scare Youssef Semaan away from his religious vocation. He chose to follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming a priest to serve the exact same community in a sign of deep loyalty and faith:
“Many years ago, I decided to return to the village to bear witness to the fact that forgiveness is possible. But the war is slowly destroying trust. Coexistence is getting increasingly difficult”.
The displacement of Kfour’s Christian population
The Christian community of Kfour, which is completely surrounded by a Shia majority, has decreased drastically in numbers. Since 2 March 2026, when the conflict took a more drastic turn following the firing of rockets by Hezbollah from Lebanon into the north of Israel, leading to Israeli retaliation bombings on southern Lebanon and the area of Beirut, the local Christian population has dropped from around 120 to about a dozen individuals. The rest of the parishioners fled toward Beirut and Sidon, leaving behind their homes, land, and farms.
“Some didn’t have the resources to leave. Others couldn’t bring themselves to abandon their cattle. One of our parishioners continues to care for about forty cows”.
Fr Youssef himself had to temporarily leave Kfour for safety reasons, but has since managed to return to the location on two occasions and keeps in touch with the remaining families on a daily basis through messages.
Escalating clashes and a dramatic choice in Nabatieh
Most of the houses in the village remain standing, but many have suffered severe structural damage, and several areas have been heavily bombed. The priest’s own home has been hit, and on the evening of 3 to 4 June, an air raid completely destroyed three houses belonging to families from the local parish.
“Every week is more dangerous than the last. The situation has become unbearable”.
Over the past few days, the region of Nabatieh has seen a significant increase in the intensity of Israeli military operations. Fighting around the historic fortress of Beaufort resumed after several days of violence, increasing pressure on neighboring locations and causing more people to flee. The parish priest of Kfour explains that the families in his community currently face a dramatic and painful choice:
“Stay and risk their lives, or abandon our land without any guarantee that we will every get our houses or our goods back”.
Nonetheless, he firmly refuses to give in to despair in these difficult moments:
“We still have hope. But hope itself is not enough. It has to be based on solid foundations that allow us to rebuild and go on living. We are human after all”.
