Pope Leo XIV on Monday visits holy sites in Lebanon that attract Christians and Muslims as he seeks to recognize the country's importance. religious pluralism and also send a signal to Christians not to leave the region.
Over the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have permanently fled parts of the Middle East due to wars and the rise of Muslim extremists.
Leo arrived in Beirut on Sunday after a visit to Turkey that began on November 27. He called on Lebanon's political leaders to be true peacemakers and put aside their differences in an effort to give a message of hope to the long-suffering people of Lebanon and support the most important Christian community in the Middle East.
A Muslim-majority country where about a third of the population is Christian, Lebanon has always been a priority for the Vatican as a stronghold for Christians throughout the region.
Despite the numerous crises that have befallen the small country, Christians in Lebanon continue to enjoy religious freedom and significant political influence. Since independence from France in 1943, there has been a power-sharing agreement under which Lebanon has a Maronite president, a Shiite Muslim speaker of parliament and a Sunni Muslim prime minister.
This makes Lebanon the only Arab country with a Christian leader.
On Monday, Leo visits the tomb of St Charbel Makhlouf and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, both north of the capital. These places attract large numbers of Christian and Muslim visitors and pilgrims.
He also intends to hold an interreligious meeting with leaders of other sects in central Beirut and meet with young groups in the Maronite Patriarchate.
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Pope Leo XIV opens his first full day in Lebanon with a visit to the tomb of a saint revered by Christians and Muslims throughout the region.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the monastery of St. Maroun in Annay to pray at the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese Maronite hermit who lived from 1828 to 1898. Today he is known for the many supposed miraculous healings that occurred after people prayed for his intercession.
Leo's visit to the tomb, the first by a Pope, opens a busy day.
The first-ever American pope will meet with Catholic priests and nuns at a shrine in Harissa before leading an interfaith meeting with some of Lebanon's Muslim leaders in Beirut.
He will end the day in Bkerka at a rally of Lebanese youth. Leo is expected to inspire them to persevere despite Lebanon's many crises and challenges.
Leo arrived in Lebanon on Sunday from Türkiye, where he inaugurated his first trip as Pope. He ends his visit on Tuesday with prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port bombing and a mass on the waterfront.
