On a Sunday in late November, Pope Leo XIV stepped onto Lebanese soil for the second stop of his first journey abroad since taking up the papacy in May, arriving in Beirut after leaving Türkiye. He was received by the nation's political leaders and the head of its largest Christian church, a gathering that brings together the state and faith at a moment when the country is weighed down by its own long hardships. Over three days he will carry a message of presence and solidarity into streets, shrines, and the scarred site of the port blast, asking a fragmented people to meet one another across
Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Beirut on First Overseas Trip, Following Stop in Türkiye
Crowds lined the road from the airport to the presidential palace in Baabda.
Mark
Why does this arrival matter beyond the ceremony itself?
Mimi
It's his first overseas trip as pope, and Lebanon is the second stop after Türkiye. The welcome party at the airport covered the presidency, the government, parliament and the Maronite church.
Mark
Who was actually there to greet him?
Mimi
President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.
Luke
The information minister says the visit brings great hope. That's an official describing his own government's hope. It isn't an independent measure of public mood.
Mimi
Fair. What we can see is that crowds lined the road to Baabda, and that more than 1,000 journalists are covering the visit. That second number is also the minister's figure.
Mark
The report mentions Israeli airstrikes. How does that connect?
Luke
Only as a linked headline: nearly 700 strikes since the ceasefire, attributed to a report. The article doesn't say how the strikes affect the schedule or the pope's message.
Mimi
The itinerary does include the Beirut port blast site on Tuesday, for a silent prayer.
Mark
What should a reader watch for?
Luke
Whatever the pope actually says. So far we only have the schedule, and nothing from him.
O Pulso
- Pope Leo XIV touched down in Beirut on Sunday, the second leg of his first overseas trip, and the arrival tarmac was already charged with the weight of a country in crisis.
- President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi all stood to greet him, while crowds lined the road toward the Baabda presidential palace.
- More than 1,000 journalists are covering the visit, and officials say it brings real hope to a nation struggling under strain, even as reports of ongoing Israeli airstrikes hang over the backdrop.
- Over three days the pope moves through meetings with leaders, interfaith gatherings in Martyrs' Square, a silent prayer at the Beirut port blast site, and a closing Mass on the waterfront, with the port site and crowded interfaith program the moments most likely to draw the country's attention.
On a Sunday in late November, Pope Leo XIV stepped onto Lebanese soil for the second stop of his first journey abroad since taking up the papacy in May, arriving in Beirut after leaving Türkiye. He was received by the nation's political leaders and the head of its largest Christian church, a gathering that brings together the state and faith at a moment when the country is weighed down by its own long hardships. Over three days he will carry a message of presence and solidarity into streets, shrines, and the scarred site of the port blast, asking a fragmented people to meet one another across old lines. It is a small, human gesture on a large and difficult stage, and its meaning will be read in what it lets people hope for.
Pope Leo XIV arrived at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on Sunday, the second stop on his first journey abroad since his election in May. He had flown in from Istanbul, where Turkish officials had seen him off that morning. Waiting on the tarmac were the figures who together stand for Lebanon's political life and its largest Christian church: President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi. Along the road to the presidential palace in Baabda, crowds gathered to watch him pass.
Information Minister Paul Morcos said Lebanon warmly welcomed the pontiff at a critical moment, describing the visit as a source of great hope for a people weighed down by repeated crises. The backdrop is harsh. A linked report noted nearly 700 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire, though it did not connect those strikes to the papal itinerary.
The three-day program is full. Leo will meet national leaders and then travel to Annaya to pray at the Shrine of Saint Charbel. He will spend time with bishops, priests, and pastoral workers, and meet the patriarchs privately. In Martyrs' Square he joins an interfaith and ecumenical gathering, and he closes the first full day with young people at Bkerke. On Tuesday he visits the sick and the medical staff at the Sisters of the Cross Hospital in Jal el-Dib, then stands in silent prayer at the port blast site. The trip ends with a waterfront Mass and a farewell at the airport.
Pope Leo XIV landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Sunday, the second stop of his first overseas trip since he became pontiff in May. He had flown in from Türkiye, where senior Turkish officials saw him off in Istanbul early that morning, according to Anadolu.
Four of Lebanon's most prominent figures were waiting on the tarmac: President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi. Together they represent the country's political leadership and its largest Christian church.
Crowds gathered along the road from the airport to the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, to greet the pope as he passed.
Information Minister Paul Morcos posted on X that Lebanon "warmly welcomes" the pontiff at a critical moment for the country. He said the visit brings great hope to a people struggling with crises. He also said more than 1,000 journalists are covering it, a figure that shows how much attention the trip has drawn.
The backdrop is a hard one. Anadolu's report links to separate coverage saying Israel has carried out nearly 700 airstrikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire. The article gives no detail beyond that headline reference, and the source does not tie the strikes directly to the pope's itinerary.
The visit runs three days. After arriving, Leo is to meet the president, the parliament speaker and the prime minister. Sessions with civil society groups and diplomats follow, and then he moves to the apostolic nunciature in Harissa, north of Beirut.
On Monday he travels to Annaya, home of the Mar Charbel monastery, to pray at the Shrine of Saint Charbel. He will then meet bishops, priests and pastoral workers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, followed by a private meeting with Catholic patriarchs at the nunciature. In central Beirut he will join an interfaith and ecumenical gathering in Martyrs' Square. The day ends with a meeting with young people at the Maronite patriarchal complex in Bkerke.
Tuesday begins with a visit to medical staff and patients at the Sisters of the Cross Hospital in Jal el-Dib. He will then hold a silent prayer at the site of the Beirut port blast. The trip closes with a Mass on Beirut's waterfront and an official farewell ceremony at the airport.
The port blast site and the crowded interfaith program are the stops to watch, since they are where the visit most directly meets the country's recent suffering and its religious divisions.
Citações Notáveis
Lebanon warmly welcomes the pontiff at a critical moment, and the visit brings great hope to a people struggling with crises.— Paul Morcos, Lebanese Information Minister, on X
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em Middle East Monitor ↗
Politics & Governance