Tens of thousands greet Pope at site of huge Beirut blast
Although Najwa said she has no illusions that Leo’s visit will help advance the investigation into the explosion and establish accountability, she still thinks it will bring some hope.
“I appreciate his visit so much. It’s a holy visit,” she said.
From the stage by Beirut’s sparkling sea, the pope, speaking in French, called on the Lebanese people to “unite our efforts so that this land can regain its ancient glory.”
French is widely spoken in Lebanon, alongside Arabic, a testament to the country’s religious and ethnic diversity, as well as its colonial past.
“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,” he declared in his homily.
Tuesday’s event ends the pontiff’s first international trip which took him to Türkiye and Lebanon, two countries with a Muslim majority and different Christian denominations. The Pope’s main message was a call for unity and interreligious dialogue.
