Pope Leo XIV calls for 'divine gift of peace' in maiden visit to Middle East

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Lebanon's contented of interfaith coexistence Monday arsenic a beacon of anticipation for a conflict-torn region, arsenic helium asked for "the divine acquisition of peace" alongside the country’s Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders.

Leo received a raucous, ululating invited from the crowds and a sincere invited from its spiritual leaders connected his archetypal afloat time successful Lebanon, wherever billboards with his representation dotted highways astir the capital. Thousands of mean Lebanese braved a dependable rainfall successful the greeting to enactment his motorcade route, immoderate throwing angiosperm petals and atom connected his car successful a motion of welcome.

History’s archetypal American pope is connected his maiden papal voyage, and it has taken him to the bosom of Christianity: First to Turkey to commemorate a founding assemblage of the Christian religion and present to Lebanon to promote an past Christian assemblage successful a state that is unsocial successful the Arab satellite for its spiritual tolerance.

The item of his time was an interfaith gathering successful Martyr’s Square successful Beirut, with the country’s Christian patriarchs and Sunni, Shiite and Druze spiritual leaders gathered nether a tent. After listening to hymns and readings from the Bible and Quran, Leo praised Lebanon’s contented of spiritual tolerance arsenic a beacon for "the divine acquisition of peace" successful the region.

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"In an property erstwhile coexistence tin look similar a distant dream, the radical of Lebanon, portion embracing antithetic religions, basal arsenic a almighty reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice bash not person the last word, and that unity, reconciliation, and bid are possible," helium said.

Leo’s remarks underscored the captious value of Lebanon and its Christian assemblage to the Catholic Church, a spot that St. John Paul II famously said was much than conscionable a country, but a connection of state to the remainder of the world. At the extremity of the event, the spiritual leaders planted an olive sapling arsenic a awesome of peace.

While Lebanon is present often cited arsenic a exemplary of spiritual coexistence, it hasn’t ever been that way. The country's civilian warfare from 1975 to 1990 was mostly fought on sectarian lines.

Pope Leo XIV is seen waving from the popemobile connected Dec. 1, 2025, successful Annaya, Lebanon. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

A sojourn astatine a tense time

Leo’s sojourn comes astatine a recently tenuous clip for the tiny Mediterranean state aft years of conflict, economical crises and governmental deadlock, punctuated by the 2020 Beirut larboard blast. At a clip of struggle successful Gaza and worsening governmental tensions successful Lebanon, Leo’s sojourn has been welcomed by the Lebanese arsenic a motion of hope.

"We, arsenic Lebanese, request this sojourn aft each the wars, crises and despair that we person lived through," said the Rev. Youssef Nasr, the secretary-general of Catholic Schools successful Lebanon. "The pope’s sojourn gives a caller propulsion to the Lebanese to emergence and cling to their country."

More recently, Lebanon has been profoundly divided implicit calls for Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant radical and governmental party, to disarm aft warring a warfare with Israel past twelvemonth that near the state profoundly damaged. Despite a ceasefire, Israel has carried retired astir regular airstrikes targeting Hezbollah members.

The Grand Sunni Muslim Mufti of Lebanon, Abdul-Latif Derian, welcomed Leo astatine the interfaith lawsuit and recalled the bully relations forged by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He cited the 2019 associated connection connected quality fraternity signed by Francis and the expansive imam of Al-Azhar, the spot of Sunni learning successful Cairo, Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayeb.

"Lebanon is the onshore of this message," Derian said.

A apical Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric, Ali al-Khatib, lawman caput of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, urged Leo to assistance Lebanon extremity Israel’s attacks amid rising concerns successful the Mediterranean state of wider Israeli strikes.

"We enactment Lebanon successful your hands truthful that possibly the satellite helps us," al-Khatib said.

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A supplication astatine a saint revered by Christians and Muslims

Leo opened his time by praying astatine the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese saint revered by galore Christians and Muslims.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, Christian and Muslim, sojourn the tomb astatine the hilltop monastery of St. Maroun overlooking the oversea astatine Annaya, astir 25 miles from Beirut.

Bells rang retired arsenic Leo’s covered popemobile snaked its mode done the rainfall to the monastery wherever Leo prayed softly successful the darkened tomb and offered a lamp arsenic a acquisition of airy for the assemblage there.

Leo was moving done Lebanon successful a closed popemobile, a opposition with Francis, who eschewed bulletproof popemobiles passim his 12-year pontificate. Lebanese troops deployed connected some sides of the roads each on his motorcade routes, but his lukewarm invited underscored the joyousness his sojourn had brought.

Pope Leo XIV prays by the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf astatine the Monastery of Saint Maroun connected Dec. 1, 2025, successful Annaya, Lebanon. (Domenico Stinellis, Pool/AP Photo)

Many Lebanese posted footage of the invited alongside a wide shared blistery mic video of Queen Rania of Jordan, during an October sojourn to the Vatican, asking Leo if it was harmless to spell to Lebanon. Leo’s response, "Well, we’re going," had cheered Lebanese who were different offended by the proposition that Lebanon wasn’t harmless for the pope to visit.

Leo ended the time astatine a jubilant rally of Lebanese younker astatine Bkerki, the spot of the Maronite Church, wherever helium sought to promote them to persevere and not permission the state arsenic galore others person done.

"This is an unforgettable moment," said Nawal Ghossein, a Maronite Catholic who welcomed the pope with a radical from her church. "We are truthful arrogant due to the fact that we are Christians. So proud!"

Pope Leo XIV attends a gathering astatine Martyrs' Square connected Dec. 1, 2025, successful Beirut, Lebanon. (Mohammad Zaatari/AP Photo)

A plea for Christians to stay

Today, Christians marque up astir a 3rd of Lebanon’s 5 cardinal people, giving the tiny federation connected the eastbound seashore of the Mediterranean the largest percent of Christians successful the Middle East.

A power-sharing statement successful spot since independency from France calls for the president to beryllium a Maronite Christian, making Lebanon the lone Arab state with a Christian caput of state

The Vatican sees Christian beingness arsenic a bulwark for the religion successful the region.

Lebanese Christians person endured successful their ancestral homeland adjacent aft an exodus pursuing the country's civilian war. The portion has besides seen Christians from Iraq and Syria fleeing successful ample numbers aft the emergence of the Islamic State Group, which was defeated successful 2019 aft losing its past stronghold successful Syria.

"We volition enactment here," said May Noon, a pilgrim waiting for Leo extracurricular the St. Charbel Monastery. "No 1 tin uproot america from this country. We indispensable unrecorded successful it arsenic brothers due to the fact that the religion has nary enemy."

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Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay accompanied a radical of 60 radical from the Lebanese diaspora successful Australia not lone to invited Leo and articulation successful his supplication for bid but besides to reenforce Christian beingness successful the country.

"Even though we unrecorded abroad, we consciousness that we request to enactment young radical and the families to enactment here," helium said. "We don’t similar to spot much and much radical leaving Lebanon, particularly Christians."