Pope Concludes First Foreign Tour with Visit to Beirut Port.

Pope Concludes First Foreign Tour with Visit to Beirut Port.

  • 2-12-2025, 18:41
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Pope Concludes First Foreign Tour with Visit to Beirut Port.

Pope Leo XIV concludes his three-day visit to Lebanon today, Tuesday, marking the end of his first foreign tour since assuming the papacy. The trip focused on promoting peace in the Middle East, with the Pope warning that humanity’s future is at risk due to ongoing bloody conflicts around the world.

The Pope—the first American to become head of the Vatican—is set to lead a prayer at the site of the 2020 chemical explosion at the Port of Beirut. He will also preside over a Catholic Mass on the city’s waterfront, expected to draw a crowd of 100,000 people, before departing for Rome with his accompanying delegation.

Pope Leo was also expected to meet with relatives of some of the victims of the explosion, which killed 218 people, devastated large parts of Beirut, and caused billions of dollars in damage after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse.

Five years later, the victims’ families continue to demand justice. No officials have been convicted in the judicial investigation, which has faced repeated obstructions—fueling public outrage in a country already reeling from decades of corruption and financial scandals.

During his visit, the Pope—who described the trip as a peace mission—urged Lebanese leaders to remain committed to peace efforts following last year’s devastating war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes.