‘Blessed are the peacemakers': Pope Leo XIV's urgent appeal in Beirut

Pope Leo XIV landed in a rain-soaked Beirut on Sunday, November 30, bringing a message of urgent peace to a nation on the front line of regional conflict.

This marks the second leg of his first overseas trip, comes as Lebanon undergoes persistent Israeli airstrikes and fears of a wider war.

Amid the rainfall, crowds waving Vatican and Lebanese flags lined the route from the airport to the Presidential Palace, where the first U.S. born pope was formally welcomed.

His closed popemobile passed under a canopy of white umbrellas held by cheering supporters.

Addressing the political and religious leaders, Pope Leo made a forceful appeal.

He started the address with, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” urging Lebanese authorities to make reconciliation their highest priority.

He noted the country’s “highly complex, conflictual and uncertain” reality but persisted that “the commitment and love for peace know no fear in the face of apparent defeat.”

The pontiff’s visit is observed as a highly significant gesture of solidarity.

Lebanon is the home to the Middle East’s largest proportion of Christians and is staggering under the spillover from the Gaza war, a devastating economic crisis, and the burden of hosting nearly one million refugees.

His visit’s schedule involves prayers at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion and a public mass on the waterfront.

The pontiff’s choice of Lebanon and Turkiye for his inaugural journey is widely viewed as a direct attempt to provide hope at the heart of a region in anguish.