Pope Leo XIV called on Lebanon to “rise up again” on Tuesday as he addressed a crowd of 150,000 worshipers at a mass in Beirut.
Lebanon can once again become a “house of justice and brotherhood” and a “messenger of peace for the entire Levant,” the pope said on the last day of his first trip abroad.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Beirut’s waterfront many hours before the service, waving Lebanese and Vatican flags. The head of the Catholic Church was greeted with thunderous applause as he arrived in his closed papal car.
Leo, who succeeded Pope Francis earlier this year, said Lebanon can “return to its former glory” if the country’s many religious and political groups unite.
Lebanon is home to a diverse mix of religious communities, including Sunni and Shia Muslims and various Christian denominations, including Catholics.
The country is in the midst of a prolonged economic crisis, with high levels of poverty, while also recovering from last year’s conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia.
The Pope had earlier prayed at the site of the devastating explosion that destroyed parts of the port of Beirut in 2020.
He also greeted the relatives of the victims, who numbered more than 200.
The mass in the Lebanese capital marked the end of his first trip abroad, which began on Thursday in Turkey.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
