Montreal, Canada, Mar 2, 2005 / 22:00 pm
After spending 13 months in sanctuary in the basement of Notre-Dame-de-Grace Catholic Church in Montreal, three Catholic Palestinian refugees were finally granted permanent residence status by Canadian immigration officials.
Khalil Ayoub, 70, his wife, Therese Boulos Haddad, 62, and his brother, Nabih, 69, received the news Friday and celebrated after Sunday mass with the parish community that had taken them under their wing.
After the final blessing, the pastor, Fr. Claude Julien, gave the Ayoubs bouquets of flowers. The three seniors then walked down the center aisle to the church’s front doors, taking their first steps out of the church in freedom.
The three Melkite Catholics had spent 52 years in refugee camps in Lebanon before arriving in Canada. They were ordered deported back to a refugee camp in January 2004, after losing their four-year battle to stay in Canada.