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Father
Elias was born on December 16, 1943, in the coastal village of Kfar Shakhna near
Tripoli, Lebanon, to Habib and Adel [Adelle] née El-Khoury, who, respectively
died in 1985 and 1992. The late
Bishop Antoun Abed of Tripoli ordained him at 25 years of age. He was a
teacher of Arabic, history and geography; a translator of Syriac; a parish
priest mainly in the villages of Bechnnine and Karm Sadeh; and a steward
of the Diocese of Tripoli
.
According to Father
Elias, Father Ibrahim founded Kfar Shakhna, which means “lively
settlement” or a “hot place”. Today it has a population of 200 people from
the Moussa, Khairallah, Koun, El-Khoury, and Elias
families.
There
is a long line of priests on both sides of his family, particularly his mother’s
family which has been blessed with vocations for at least six consecutive
generations. Father Elias was born to a
large family: two brothers --Hanna and George; and six sisters --Hasneh,
Katrine, Eugenia, Alis, Hawa, and Wadad. Alis is married with five
children. Wadad and Hawa, both nuns, took
religious names: Sister Agnes and Sister Philomene of Saint Theresa of the
Child Jesus.
Sister Philomene was martyred at the beginning of the war in
Lebanon, on 10 December 1975, while performing her work at the order’s
home for the aged in ‘Ain el Rummaneh
.
With great emotion,
Father Elias said, “the influence of my parents in my life was profound.
Our motto was work and prayer. Every night, as a family, we prayed the
rosary and recited the office of the Blessed Mother. We were brought up to
be loyal to our Church and to serve according to the old-fashioned ‘Book
of Proverbs’ way.”
Once in Fredericton, he
quickly learned about his parishioners, their origins and their concerns.
Father Elias described his parishioners as eager “to learn about their
history and heritage. They ask many questions to better understand and
appreciate their rite. They yearn for their homeland which they left
unwillingly. They are loyal and grateful to Canada which allows them to
achieve their ambitions.”
Father Elias explained
that the Maronites of Fredericton built Saint Sharbel Church in 1983
because they wanted to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries (the Sacraments) in
their spoken and liturgical languages, Arabic and Syriac, and to pass on
their baptismal heritage to their children.
These
Maronites, mainly from Niha, Kfar Shakhna, Mazrat Bani Saab, Barsa, Deir Bella,
and Al ‘Aqoura were served by several Maronite priests. They were Fathers Antoun Karam, David Melki and Elie Zwain who is
currently serving in the Canadian Army; Elie Chedid who has recently been
assigned to the Saint Maron Mission in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; and
Simon Assaf
.
Father Elias has a great
devotion to the Bible and the Acts of Saint Paul. He is “refreshed” by
them. He places great spiritual value on the [Perpetual] Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament and the reception of the Holy Eucharist “in atonement
for insults to Our Lord Jesus.” He plans to further good relations with
neighboring churches and people.
He
prays that Saint Sharbel, the parish patron, will lead him and his parishioners
to great faith and an understanding of Christian heroism.
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