Pope encourages Lebanese not to abandon country

BEIRUT

Pope Leo XIV reads his speech at the Catholic basilica of Harissa, Lebanon, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Pope Leo XIV’s visits holy sites in Lebanon on Dec. 1 that draw Christian and Muslims, as he seeks to recognize the importance of the country's religious pluralism and also send a message to Christians not to abandon the region.

Over the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left parts of the Middle East for good, driven by wars and the rise of Muslim extremists.

Leo arrived in Beirut on Nov. 30 after a visit to Türkiye that began on Nov. 27. He challenged Lebanon’s political leaders to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside as he sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East.

A Muslim-majority country where about a third of the population is Christian, Lebanon always has been a priority for the Vatican as a bulwark for Christians throughout the region.

Despite the many crises that have battered the small nation, Christians in Lebanon continue to enjoy religious freedom and significant political influence.

Leo visits the Tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf and the Shrine of of Our Lady of Lebanon on Dec. 1, both north of the capital. The sites draw large numbers of Christian and Muslim visitors and pilgrims.

He also is set to hold an interreligious meeting with leaders of other sects in central Beirut and meet young groups at the Maronite patriarchate.

Pope Leo XIV received a raucous, cheering welcome from priests and nuns at the seat of the Maronite church in Lebanon.

Women in the crowd ululated and others shouted, “Viva il Papa,” meaning “Long live the pope,” as Leo arrived at the Our Lady of Lebanon Basilica in Harissa, a town north of Beirut.

They reached out to touch him and kissed his hand while he made his way to the front of the sanctuary.

Pope Leo XIV has prayed for peace at the tomb of a Lebanese saint revered by Christians and Muslims on the first full day of his visit to Lebanon.

Leo traveled on Dec. 1 to the hilltop monastery of St. Maroun in Annaya to pray at the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf.

Speaking in French, the American pope prayed for communion and unity in the church and peace for Lebanon and the region.