Pope Leo arrives in Lebanon, bringing call for unity in crisis-hit nation

By Christopher Lamb and Billy Stockwell, CNN

Beirut (CNN) — Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday with the hope of being a “messenger of peace” as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts, just days after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut.

Standing below a message that read “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” at the presidential palace in Baabda, Leo urged people to remain in Lebanon amid an “exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere” due to “uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats.”

“We must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable,” he said in his address to the country’s authorities and civil society.

Peace knows “no fear in the face of apparent defeat” and is not “daunted by disappointment,” Leo said. “It takes tenacity to build peace. It takes perseverance to protect and nurture life.”

Leo’s visit will offer support to Lebanon’s sizeable Christian minority, which has ancient roots in the country. The pontiff is due to meet political leaders and young people, take part in an inter-religious gathering and celebrate mass on the Beirut waterfront as part of the second leg of his first foreign trip since his election in May.

Large crowds, some holding Lebanese and Vatican flags, lined the streets to welcome the first American pontiff to the presidential palace. More spectators gathered inside palace grounds in the hopes of spotting the pope, donning plastic raincoats under a gray sky.

Leo’s calls for dialogue and unity come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and days after the Israeli strike last week on southern Beirut.

The strike, which targeted Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, killed five people and injured 28, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Moments before arriving in Beirut, Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane that he had come to Lebanon and Turkey – the first port of call on his international trip – as a “messenger” to “promote peace throughout the region.”

He also reiterated the Holy See’s support for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, saying it is the only way to offer a “solution to the conflict they continually live.”

“We seek with both sides to be a mediating voice that can help to draw close to a solution with justice for all,” Leo said in the first in-flight press conference of his papacy.

One stop on Leo’s tour will be the Monastery of Mar Maroun, or Saint Maroun, in the town of Annaya, high in the Lebanese mountains. There, he is expected to pray at the tomb of Charbel Makhlouf, a monk known for bringing people of different faiths together.

Lebanon has 18 officially recognized faiths and sects – including 12 Christian communities – with Shia Muslims now Lebanon’s single largest sect. Leo is due to have private meetings with Christian leaders, as well as with Muslim and Druze leaders.

On Tuesday, the final day of his visit, Leo will pray at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which left more than 200 people dead and injured at least 6,000 others. He will then depart for Italy’s capital Rome.

Earlier this week, while condemning the use of religion for justifying “war,” Leo urged Catholics to mobilize their faith and unify others “regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or personal perspectives.”

“We must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence, or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism,” Leo reflected.

Leo’s trip comes at a tense time, one year after an uneasy truce was established between Israel and Hezbollah through US mediation.

The Vatican has long been engaged in diplomacy in the Middle East, and in 2021 the late Pope Francis hosted Lebanese Christian leaders in the Vatican to address the country’s political crisis. The last papal visit to Lebanon took place in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.

CNN’s Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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