Romano Bottegal

Shortly after his ordination, Romano Bottegal entered the Abbey of Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) in Rome, belonging to the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists). He made his solemn vows there in 1951. He pursued theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained a licentiate in 1953. Within his Roman community, he held various offices: master of lay brothers, cantor, novice master, and prior. However, he felt a pressing call toward a more radical solitude and a life of contemplative prayer in the Middle East. In 1961, he responded to the call of the Abbot of Latroun (in the Holy Land) to participate in a project for a Maronite-rite Trappist foundation in Lebanon. He then began studying Arabic, Syriac, and Eastern liturgy. Although this foundation project was ultimately abandoned by the Order's General Chapter in 1963, Romano's desire for an eremitic life did not wane. After a brief return to Rome, where he lived temporarily as a hermit within the monastery grounds, he obtained special authorization in 1964 for three years to settle as a hermit in Lebanon, specifically in Jabbouleh, in the Baalbek region. In 1967, he received definitive authorization to devote himself to this anchoritic life. From 1969 to 1973, he divided his time between Israel (Latroun) and Lebanon, before establishing himself even more strictly as a recluse starting in 1976.

The life of Romano Bottegal in Lebanon was marked by extreme stripping away of self, continual prayer, and manual labor. Living in absolute poverty, he spiritually united himself with the sufferings of the local populations. When the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975, his hermitage suffered incursions and looting, but he refused to flee, offering his life and his deprivations for peace in the Middle East and the unity of Christians. Exhausted by the rigors of his asceticism and material deprivations, he contracted tuberculosis. He was transported to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Beirut, where he passed away peacefully on February 19, 1978, at the age of 56. He is buried in the Greek-Melkite Catholic Cathedral of Saint Barbara in Baalbek.

The reputation for holiness of Father Romano Bottegal spread rapidly, both in Italy (in his native region of Belluno) and in Lebanon, particularly among the Eastern-rite Christians who had known him. In 1999, the General Chapter of the Trappists approved the preparation of his cause for beatification. The diocesan process was officially opened in October 2000 under the aegis of the Melkite Archdiocese of Baalbek. On December 9, 2013, Pope Francis signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus granting him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Romano Bottegal rests on an absolute evangelical radicality, characterized by the simplicity of spiritual childhood and total abandonment to divine love. His personal writings reveal a mystical soul reaching toward union with God, describing his vocation as a mission to "offer love a place to rest." His humility and complete detachment from the goods of this world deeply marked his contemporaries. Today, a convent stands near his former hermitage in Jabbouleh to perpetuate his work of prayer and contemplation. He remains a model of unity, spiritual dialogue, and sacrifice for peace in the Middle East.