The Knights of Malta have been supporting the Kefraya Community Care Centre on the Syrian border since 1991. The centre is run in collaboration with the Sisters of Charity of the St Augustine community.
The Centre is a point of reference for 50 villages in the Western Bekaa region: it provides basic assistance and support to the most vulnerable communities, promoting coexistence in a region tormented by conflict. The region has experienced many years of war and conflict and has suffered from permanent instability that has had a real impact on the daily lives of the villagers. Thanks to the wide range and quality of its services, the Kefraya Centre has become a pillar in this vast rural area where the local community of multiple religious denominations lives side by side.
The Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, met with the Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï on 15 March 2025. During the meeting, the Order reported in a note, the Patriarch emphasised the importance of the international community recognising the sovereignty and neutrality of Lebanon.
The previous day, the Grand Chancellor had travelled to the West Beqaa area, where the Lebanese Association of the Order of Malta has a number of humanitarian projects. In the morning, he visited the Kefraya Mobile Medical Unit, which supports the most vulnerable people in the area, and then moved on to the Kefraya Community Care Centre, which today plays an important role also in assisting the displaced Syrian population.
During the meeting with the Maronite Patriarch, the Grand Chancellor reiterated the Order of Malta’s ‘full support’ in this recovery phase. It was a high-level diplomatic mission that emphasises the Order of Malta’s 70 years of continuous commitment in Lebanon, particularly in the health, welfare and agriculture sectors, embodying Lebanon’s unique spirit of coexistence and resilience.
