Pope Leo is in Lebanon, the nation with the highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, as part of his first foreign trip as pontiff. Earlier today, he held Mass at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which killed hundreds of people and injured thousands. Pope Leo also met with the families of those killed in the explosion.

Pope Leo XIV: “In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word and that unity, reconciliation and peace are possible.”

Before arriving in Lebanon, Pope Leo over the weekend said that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must include a Palestinian state.