A passion for an Abandoned Flock

"A tribute to N. Kluiters, who left for Lebanon in 1966 to prepare for the priesthood. In 1974, he became parish priest of a poor region north of the Bekaa valley. In 1985, he was abducted while on his way back to his parish and found dead on April 1, his body badly mutilated. His life testifies to an exemplary Christian commitment in a time of war.

Nicolas Kluiters wanted to be a painter, but he became a Jesuit priest, choosing to ""paint with people"". From his birth in the Netherlands to his apostolate (1974-1985) in Lebanon's northern Bekaa valley, where he became a victim of the war ravaging the country, Nicolas Kluiters followed the path of a pastor. To tell the story of his life is to tell the story of a man who goes out of his way to meetmen and women from a different culture than his, who gets accepted by them and becomes one of them.

This biography takes us to the extended parish where Fr. Kluiters worked to bring all communities together, reconcile villagers with each other, instill hope, create work and education opportunities and better health conditions. Nicolas saw his ministry as an unconditional gift of himself to Jesus-Christ. "I must be the fertilizer of the neglected land of the northern Bekaa", he wrote. A double passion that would lead him to his own passion. Nicolas sowed much love in this "good soil" thirsting for recognition, faith and development, before watering and irrigating it with his blood. The grain that fell into the ground produced many beautiful fruits."