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Joseph Hazboun, regional director of the Jerusalem office of Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission, visits the Crèche (Holy Family Children's Home) in Bethlehem April 13, 2024.
OSV News photo/Joseph Saadah, CNEWA
November 13, 2025
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The Light in the East benefit gala held in Ottawa on November 7 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Canadian wing of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) pontifical charity.
It was a tribute to the love and compassion of CNEWA’s friends who respond to Jesus’ call to be Good Samaritans, by supporting the organization’s mission of bringing humanitarian aid to distant lands of the global village.
It highlighted the importance of CNEWA’s work in countries where war, persecution, poverty, and political turmoil are taking a devastating toll on human lives and in some cases triggering an exodus that’s almost obliterating 2000 years of Christian presence.
The gala saluted CNEWA’s frontline workers who risk their lives in nearly impossible conditions to bring hope to Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Ukraine. It also provided a sombre reminder of the challenges faced by Eastern branches of the Church.
“Tonight, we come together not only to raise critical support but to celebrate the bonds of faith and solidarity that unite us,” Adriana Bara, CNEWA Canada’s National Director said as she welcomed 158 guests.
Two special guests were highlights of the evening. Joseph Hazboun, regional director of CNEWA’s pontifical mission in Jerusalem, and Beirut-based Michel Constantin, director for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt travelled to Ottawa to strengthen ties with Canadians.
Hazboun exuded a serene sense of hope founded on a deep faith despite the challenges of his mission, and personal disappointments such as the emigration of his daughter and son-in- law to Spain when prospects for a safe and economically sustainable life became distant.
“The Holy Land will find peace,” Hazboun told The Catholic Register. “People have the right to live in peace, in dignity, and with the opportunity to prosper. However, it is heartbreaking to see an 1,800-year-old indigenous Christian community in Gaza shrink or, worse, disappear.”
In the Middle East, Gaza’s Christian population has shrunk from 1000 before the latest Hamas-Israel war to under 500 according to a mid-2025 report.
Hazboun stressed the importance of preserving the Christian community in its ancient homelands due to the important role it plays in social cohesion.
“It’s not about numbers. It’s about the important role Christians play building bridges of peace between different communities and serving the needs of all regardless of faith or ethnicity,” he said.
Hazboun, Constantin, and their teams continue working amid challenges that cause others to leave.
“It’s not a job. It’s a mission. You can’t just help once and then abandon people. CNEWA’s mission is to accompany. We stay with the people and we find solutions,” he said.
Anastasia Hryniuk, coordinator of the Ukraine program run from Canada, described the gratitude of Ukrainians for CNEWA’s work.
“War brought darkness to our world, but CNEWA brings light and hope,” she said, adding it has sent $10 million over the last four years to Ukraine.
(Susan Korah is an Ottawa correspondent for The Catholic Register.)
A version of this story appeared in the November 16, 2025, issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "CNEWA pledges support for Eastern Catholics at Ottawa gala evening".
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Photo courtesy Liz Dachuk
