As Pope Leo XIV prepares for a historic journey to Lebanon, religious leaders and Catholics serving others in the country are sharing their hopes for what the visit will bring.
According to a Nov. 20 report from the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), upon his arrival to the country Nov. 30, Pope Leo is set to meet with Lebanese politicians in the nation’s capital of Beirut. He is expected to visit the tomb of Saint Charbel Dec. 1, and then meet with church leaders and young people. According to CNEWA, Pope Leo will visit the Hospital of the Holy Cross in Jal el-Dib, north of Beirut, on Dec. 2. The institution, which cares for about 800 adults with disabilities, has a number of preparations underway, such as repainting the walls and laying fresh asphalt.
Sister Rose Hanna, a Franciscan Sister of the Holy Cross who leads the hospital, told CNEWA that the upcoming visit is a blessing. She expressed hope that the visit will lead families to visit those in the hospital more often.
According to the association, in recent years Lebanon has suffered from the Israel-Hezbollah war, an economic collapse, and a deadly explosion in 2020 in Beirut. According to Britannica, an improper storage of ammonium nitrate resulted in a blast that killed 218 people, injured 7,000, and displaced about 300,000. It also caused political unrest. Sr. Hanna told CNEWA that she hopes the Pontiff’s journey to the country will “bring peace.”
“Every day, we hope for peace,” she added.
Following the visit to the hospital, Pope Leo is set to celebrate Mass on the Beirut waterfront, according to CNEWA.
Maronite Bishop Michel Aoun of Jbeil, president of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in the country, told CNEWA that the Pontiff “comes as a messenger of peace.”
“The Holy Father is coming for all Lebanese,” he added. “The Christians and the Muslims in this country need help together.”
Sheikh Rabih Qubaisi, a Supreme Shiite Islamic council member based in the city of Tyre, told CNEWA that he sees Pope Leo’s visit as “a message of peace, love and renewed hope, affirming that religions … call for mercy, justice and cooperation,” the association reported.
In a Nov. 24 article from Reuters, Rev. Najib Amil, the pastor of the Maronite Catholic parish St. George Church in the Lebanese municipality Rmeich, noted that Pope Leo’s choice to visit Lebanon during his first apostolic journey is significant.
“That’s proof he cares very much about Lebanon and especially the Christians here – because if the Christians of Lebanon leave, there won’t be any more Christians in the Middle East,” he told the outlet.
According to Sky News, the first Israeli airstrike on Beirut since June occurred Nov. 23, killing Hezbollah’s chief of staff. The outlet reports that Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the strike killed five people and injured 28 people.
Hanna Amil, the mayor of Rmeich, told Reuters, “We hope the pope’s visit to Lebanon will be a message to put a limit to these wars.”
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