Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lebanon on the evening of November 30, welcomed with a gun salute.

He was received at Beirut International Airport by President Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and representatives of Lebanon’s Christian and Muslim communities.

In celebration of the Pope’s arrival, church bells rang across Beirut and other cities, while ships in seaports sounded their horns.

Leo XIV’s apostolic visit will last three days under the motto "Blessed are the peacemakers." On December 1, he will hold an ecumenical meeting with leaders of Lebanon’s Muslim communities in downtown Beirut, where he is expected to call for interfaith dialogue, tolerance, and an end to violence.

The highlight of the visit will take place on December 2, with an open-air Mass on Beirut’s embankment. During the service, Pope Leo XIV will pray for those who died in the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020.