BREAKING Pope Leo XIV Arrives Safely in Lebanon to a Warm Welome where He is Known as "Baba Liyū" to Locals!

  Pope Leo XIV in Beirut: A Call for Peace in Crisis

The arrival of Pope Leo XIV—known in Arabic as “Baba Liyū”—in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, was met with an enthusiastic greeting. This visit marked the second portion of the Pope's inaugural Apostolic Journey.

“Baba Liyū” has arrived in Lebanon! After 13 years, the Land again hosts a Pope, and the timing of this visit is highly significant.

The city of Beirut is located approximately 100 km from Damascus, the capital of Syria, and a similar distance from northern Israel. This geographical context underscores the importance of this second stop on Pope Leo’s itinerary.

While the primary focus during the Turkish leg of the journey was on interreligious harmony and ecumenism, the core message in Beirut is peace, encapsulated in the visit's official motto: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Lebanon is currently dealing with one of the most severe economic downturns in its modern history, with soaring inflation and a steep drop in the value of the local currency.

Essential public services are fractured: the nation endures frequent electrical failures and severe shortages of medicines and fuel. This situation is compounded by structural corruption and the presence of approximately two million refugees—including Syrians and Palestinians—constituting around one-third of the total population and social discord.

In the face of an absent or struggling state, religious institutions, particularly those affiliated with the Catholic Church, are instrumental in providing support to the populace.

The host for the Pope, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Patriarch, expressed his deep appreciation for the visit in an interview with Vatican News.

“The Holy Father brings with him spiritual and moral dimensions, and he arrives bearing a wealth of spiritual and moral gifts. For me, this serves as a personal challenge to every Lebanese person—a plea for transformation, to close one chapter and inaugurate a new one, the chapter of peace, of hope. We cannot continue to live as if nothing has occurred. The Pope comes, ceremonies are held, the welcome is extended, he departs, and then everything reverts to the way it was. No. We hope the Lebanese will seriously contemplate and value this visit, because the Holy Father recognizes that Lebanon is navigating a very, very critical moment.”

Lebanon's distinctive democratic framework and sectarian pluralism set it apart from all other countries in the Middle East.

Consequently, Pope Leo XIV’s initial engagements are concentrated on political institutions: the airport welcome ceremony and the subsequent meeting with the country's president, Joseph Aoun, who, under the Constitution, is mandated to be a Maronite Christian.

Following this, there will be an audience with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, succeeded by an interaction with the Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam.

Through these meetings, the Pope will have engaged with the representatives of the three principal components of the Lebanese confessional governance system: Maronite, Shiite, and Sunni.

The concluding activity on Sunday will be the assembly with authorities, civil society representatives, and members of the diplomatic corps, where Pope Leo will deliver his first major speech in Lebanon.

Edited from Vatican News