The Naples Maronite community gathered earlier this month to celebrate St. Maron, their patron saint, as well as the customs and traditions of the Lebanese people. The feast is called a hafle (HUFF-ley), and it includes sumptuous Lebanese foods, circular dancing known as debke (DEB-kee) , and of course, exuberant conversations in Arabic and English.
The hafle was held at St William’s Church in Naples, which could easily hold the 75 families that belong to the church as well as theirfriends and guests.
Father Paul Tarabay is the group’s priest. He hoped that the gathering would help people get to know one another.
“My goal and my target is to be together,” he said.
Martha Michael is on the parish council. She hopes to educate guests about the church’s teachings.
“I just want to make sure that everybody enjoys themselves, and gets to know the Maronite liturgy, which we wanted to introduce, and enjoys their time.”
The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic church that was founded in the 4thcenturyaround the teachings of St. Maron, who was Syrian. Today, the largest population of Maronites live in Lebanon. In fact, by convention, the president of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian. (Other high-ranking Lebanese officials include Sunni and Shia Muslim, GreekOrthodox, and Druze, so the major sects in the population are represented.)
In 2019, members of the Naples Maronite community decided to gather a community locally.
St. Agnes Church in Naples shares space with the group, for weekend services. The church also holds services at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and Ave Maria University.
Vivian Nasr is a church member who hopes the Naples church can have its own home one day. “The vision is for us as a community to grow, and the bottom line, to be able to build our church. We appreciate what the other churches are doing for us in terms of hosting us, but eventually we would like to have our own home.”
When and if they do get their own home, it is sure to be festive and welcoming.
This is Deacon Steve Marcus.
“We’re here, we’re serious about our faith, we welcome all people, and we want to just be able to spread the love of Jesus.”
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
