Pope Leo XIV delivers peace message to 150,000 at Beirut Mass

BEIRUT — With a rainbow adorning the early morning sky, tens of thousands of people converged on Beirut’s waterfront on Tuesday to attend public prayers led by Pope Leo

Speaking to a crowd of around 150,000 – including much of Lebanon’s political class – Leo described himself as “a pilgrim of hope to the Middle East”. He implored “God for the gift of peace for this beloved land marked by instability, wars and suffering.”

This message had deep resonance here in Lebanon, a country that has experienced more than its fair share of all three in recent years.

In 2019, its economy collapsed, devaluing the currency by more than 98% and virtually wiping out most people’s savings.

A year later, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port of Beirut exploded, killing hundreds of people and devastating large swathes of the Lebanese capital. The disaster, blamed on gross negligence at all levels of government, has become emblematic of Lebanon’s endemic corruption, but no one responsible has yet been charged.

Then came war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in 2023. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November 2024 was supposed to end hostilities, but more than a year later, Israel still occupies parts of southern Lebanon and has carried out near-daily airstrikes — steps it sees as vital to thwarting Hezbollah’s attempts to rebuild. (A week before Leo’s arrival, Israeli military planes struck an apartment in a Beirut suburb, assassinating Hezbollah’s top military commander.)

Pope Leo XIV leaves the mass celebrated on the Beirut waterfront on December 2, 2025, the last day of his visit to Türkiye and Lebanon.

(Adri Salido/Getty Images)

Despite these difficulties and growing fears that conflict with Israel would resume, the mood throughout Leon’s stay in Lebanon was jubilant, with many believing that the pontiff’s presence would act as a deterrent against any attack.

Indeed, celebrations began as soon as he arrived, with church bells across the country marking his arrival from Türkiye on Sunday. During the three-day visit, at every stage of the pontiff’s busy schedule, neither heavy rains nor the scorching sun stopped people from parading through the streets, hooting and showering the papal procession with rose petals, rice and even pigeons.

And in a country where religion often spills over into politics with devastating effects (as was the case during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war), the papal visit attracted not only Christians – who make up about a third of the country’s population – but also members of other faiths. Even Hezbollah got involved, with a marching band from the group’s youth wing playing as the pope walked through Hezbollah-dominated neighborhoods of the capital.

“Of course, we’re all here to celebrate. It’s the pope coming to Lebanon. You can’t miss that,” said George Abinader, a 20-year-old university student attending the waterside mass with his mother, Najat Abinader. “All sects. This is the real Lebanon.”

Like many others present, Najat Abinader believed the pope would be a powerful advocate for Lebanon on the international stage, but she wanted his words to have an effect domestically as well.

“Today we all feel at peace. Tomorrow that could change, but we hope that the politicians here will take this message seriously,” she said.

Children dressed as cardinals gather at De La Croix hospital, in the suburbs of Beirut, ahead of the visit of Pope Leo XIV on December 2, 2025.

(Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

Despite Leo’s reputation as a more discreet pontiff than his predecessor, Pope Francis, the 70-year-old Chicagoan seemed galvanized by the moment. He visited religious shrines, attended festive gatherings and took part in multifaith dialogue between Christian and interfaith leaders, giving speeches in English and French and occasionally throwing out phrases in Arabic to cheers of approval.

His last day in Lebanon began with a visit to De La Croix Hospital, a facility specializing in the treatment of patients suffering from psychological problems. He then traveled to the port, where he spoke with some of the families of the 218 people killed in the 2020 explosion and held a silent vigil among the ruins.

As the popemobile headed from the port toward the waterfront, people jostled against metal barricades to get a better vantage point for smartphone videos.

By the time he arrived on stage, the event resembled a rock concert, with people waving Lebanese and Vatican flags to music from a nearby orchestra.

As he did in other speeches, Leo did not hesitate to mention the evils affecting Lebanon. “Its beauty,” he said, is “eclipsed by poverty and suffering,” as well as “a fragile and often unstable political context, the dramatic economic crisis that weighs heavily on you and the violence and conflicts that have awakened old fears.”

People carrying Vatican and Lebanese flags gather at De La Croix Hospital in anticipation of the Pope’s visit to the facility.

(Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

“Let us cast off the armor of our ethnic and political divisions, open our religious confessions to mutual encounter and awaken in our hearts the dream of a united Lebanon. A Lebanon where peace and justice reign, where all recognize each other as brothers and sisters,” he declared.

He added that the Middle East “needs new approaches to reject the mentality of revenge and violence” and that “the path of mutual hostility and destruction in the horror of war has been traveled for too long.” He has not spoken about the creation of a Palestinian state, but has in recent months supported a two-state solution, which Israel opposes.

Listening to the homily was Philippe Zarzour, a 59-year-old self-proclaimed real estate expert, who said the large crowd proved the importance of the pope’s message.

“This is a referendum. We are a nation that wants peace. Enough war,” he said.

Zarzour was nonetheless realistic about what the pope could do.

“Can he change things?” he asked. “He helps people see the way. But otherwise? What is Jesus Christ?”

Leo also had a message for Christians in the Levant, who over the decades have seen their presence dwindle to around 5% of the Middle East’s population.

“When the results of your efforts for peace are slow to come, I invite you to look up to the Lord who is coming,” he said.

“Christians of the Levant, citizens of these lands in all respects, I repeat: have courage! The whole Church looks at you with affection and admiration.”

In his last speech, on the tarmac before taking off, he regretted not being able to go to the south of the country, which, according to him, “is currently experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty”.

“Let the attacks and hostilities stop,” he said. “We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit. Even if weapons are deadly, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive.”

Moments after his plane took off, the familiar hum of Israeli drones, absent during the pope’s visit, echoed again above the capital.