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Pope Leo XIV closed his visit to Lebanon on Tuesday with a waterfront Mass that drew more than 120,000 people, a striking show of unity for a country battered by crisis.
Greek Melkite Patriarch Youssef Absi opened the service by noting Lebanon’s largely Eastern-rite Catholic community, thanking the Pope for bringing “a message of joy and peace” rather than politics.
In his homily, the Pope acknowledged Lebanon’s economic collapse, political paralysis, and the daily struggle families face. But he urged Christians not to give in to despair, pointing to the “small shining lights” that still exist even in dark times.
He praised Lebanon’s beauty while noting how it has been “overshadowed by poverty and suffering,” and called on the faithful to turn gratitude into action, rejecting anger, corruption, and the logic of violence. True renewal, he said, begins by “disarming our hearts.”
He closed with a clear appeal: “Lebanon, stand up. Be a home of justice and fraternity.”
For the thousands who packed Beirut’s waterfront, it was a rare moment of collective hope, one that didn’t hide the hardship but pushed toward something brighter.
*Source: Vatican
