Pope Leo XIV Urges Coexistence at Martyrs’ Square During Lebanon Visit

Pope Leo XIV urged “coexistence” during the second day of his visit to Lebanon on Monday, gathering clerics from across the religious spectrum at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, a site that once marked the “green line” dividing Muslim west and Christian east Beirut during the 1975–90 civil war.

“Pope Leo has called for “coexistence” during the second day of his visit to Lebanon, gathering clerics from across the religious spectrum on both sides of a former civil war dividing line, and appealing for unity in a region fractured by violence”

Al Jazeera

Standing in Martyrs’ Square, Leo said Lebanon showed that “fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word,” and he appealed for unity in a region fractured by violence.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said the location highlighted the contrast between the image of interfaith unity and the reality of entrenched politics, adding, “Religious leaders coming together under one tent look like they are speaking with one voice, but the reality is, this is a deeply divided country.”

The visit began with Leo arriving in Lebanon on Sunday as part of his first overseas trip as pope, including a stop in Turkiye, where he held two major appointments before traveling to Beirut.

On Monday, Leo also visited the tomb of St Charbel before traveling to Harissa, a hillside shrine overlooking the Mediterranean, where crowds shouted “Viva il Papa” as he arrived under the towering statue of the Virgin Mary.

As Pope Leo delivered his message of unity, Lebanon remained entangled in a broader regional conflict, with Hezbollah having begun firing rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023, describing the attacks as an act of solidarity after Israel launched a genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza the previous day.

The Al Jazeera report said Israel has continued cross-border strikes that have killed more than 300 people in Lebanon, including about 127 civilians, according to the United Nations, and it added that Hezbollah has responded to Israeli attacks only once since a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Awaz The Voice

Al Jazeera’s Khodr said Leo avoided direct comment on the fighting, though she reported that he had previously called for dialogue, quoting her warning that “there’s a lot of concern of renewed conflict and that Israel will escalate its attacks.”

In a separate account, CNN reported that Leo urged people to remain in Lebanon amid an “exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere” due to “uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats,” as he addressed authorities and civil society at the presidential palace in Baabda.

CNN also said an Israeli strike on southern Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, killing five people and injuring 28, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, days before Leo’s arrival.

Beyond interfaith messaging, the visit is framed by multiple outlets as a response to Lebanon’s economic and political crisis, with Al Jazeera saying decades of state mismanagement spiralled into a financial meltdown in late 2019 and that Lebanon continues to host about one million Syrian and Palestinian refugees.

“Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday with the hope of being a “messenger of peace” as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts, just days after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut”

CNN

CNN reported that on Tuesday, the final day of his visit, Leo will pray at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which left more than 200 people dead and injured at least 6,000 others, and it said he would then depart for Italy’s capital Rome.

Al Jazeera said Leo will visit the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion on Tuesday before leading a mass on the city’s historic waterfront, while also noting that Martyrs’ Square has long symbolised Lebanon’s struggle to overcome sectarianism.

In a wider security context, Fox News Digital said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed that “There is no specific concern related to the recent Israeli strike,” adding that “the situation was already well known even a few months ago, and all necessary precautionary measures have been taken.”

As the trip continues, Pope Leo’s calls for reconciliation and staying in Lebanon are tied to the country’s demographic and political pressures, with CNN quoting him saying, “We must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable.”