By Ireti Asemota.
On the second day of his historic first foreign trip as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV made an emotional pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charbel in the mountain monastery of Annaya, north of Beirut, where thousands of Lebanese from all faiths greeted him with tears, ululations, and showers of rice.
Surrounded by candlelight inside the stone hermitage, the Pope prayed aloud:
“For the world, we ask for peace. We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant.”
Saint Charbel, the white-bearded Maronite hermit canonised in 1977, is revered far beyond Christianity — his image adorns taxis, homes, and shops across the country, even in Muslim neighbourhoods.
A Message Lebanon Desperately Needed
Lebanon is still reeling from:
- A six-year economic collapse that has driven over 80% of the population into poverty
- Mass youth emigration (“the greatest haemorrhage in our history,” one bishop called it)
- Renewed Israeli strikes despite a fragile November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah
- Political paralysis and U.S. pressure to disarm the Iran-backed group
Yet the streets were alive with joy. “Everyone goes to Rome to see the Pope — today the Pope came to us,” said Therese Daraouni, 61, who waited hours in the rain. “This is the greatest blessing for Lebanon right now.”
Today’s Packed Schedule (Monday 1 Dec)
- Address to bishops & clergy at Our Lady of Lebanon shrine in Harissa
- Inter-religious meeting in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square with leaders from all 18 recognised sects
- Youth encounter at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke
The government declared Monday and Tuesday public holidays; roads are closed, drones banned, and security is at maximum.
The Pope’s Clear Challenge to Lebanon’s Leaders
Yesterday upon arrival from Turkey, Leo XIV urged politicians to stop the paralysis and “place themselves with commitment and dedication at the service of the people.” He warned against the “exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere” and called Lebanon — once the Middle East’s only Christian-majority country — to remain “a message of peace and fraternity.”
For a nation exhausted by crisis after crisis, the sight of the Pope praying at Saint Charbel’s tomb felt like a rare moment of light.
As one young woman waiting in Annaya put it: “His visit put a smile back on our faces. We still have hope.”
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