BEIRUT (RNS) — At a meeting with a head of the one of the Christian faith’s earliest communities, Pope Leo XIV addressed young Christians on Monday (Dec. 1), urging them to stay in their country despite the recurring challenges and obstacles.
“Dear young people, perhaps you regret inheriting a world torn apart by wars and disfigured by social injustice,” he told the crowd gathered at Bkerki, the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch, northeast of Beirut. “Yet there is hope within you, a gift that we adults seem to have lost. You have time! You have more time to dream, to plan and to do good.”
Among the mostly local youth present were some from Syria and Iraq, as well as many from the Lebanese diaspora around the world. An estimated 15 million Lebanese live outside the country, according to government data, while the population in the country is around 5.8 million.
Arriving aboard a popemobile, Leo greeted a large crowd waving the white and yellow flags of the Holy See alongside Lebanese flags. He was greeted by Bechara Boutros Rahi, the Maronite Patriarch, before hearing the testimonies of two volunteers, identified as Anthony and Maria, who spontaneously rushed to the streets to help people in the aftermath of the devastating 2020 explosion on Beirut’s waterfront, when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate accidentally ignited.
Recently, conflict in the southern part of Lebanon has created even more instability and danger, with Hezbollah and Israeli forces engaged in a bloody conflict
Leo also heard from Elie, a young Lebanese man, who decided to stay in Lebanon despite the constant challenges facing young people in the country. An economic crisis in 2019 had already sent the country spiraling when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, leading to unemployment for many and lower wages for those who kept their jobs. The port explosion dealt another staggering blow to the country’s confidence, causing many people to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
People wave Lebanese and Vatican flags as they wait to welcome Pope Leo XIV upon his arrival to Beirut, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A young woman and her mother also spoke, describing how they opened their home to another small family after that family’s home in the south of Lebanon was heavily bombed in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict.
In response to these stories, Leo said, “With a generous commitment to justice, plan together for a future of peace and development. Be the source of hope that the country is waiting for!” He reminded those in the crowd that renewal “begins with everyday gestures, welcoming those near and far, offering a hand to friends and refugees and forgiving enemies — a difficult but necessary task.”
He encouraged youth to not be distracted by the difficulties of life, but to focus on God, who might “sometimes seems silent or absent, but reveals himself to those who seek him in silence.” Leo told them to be inspired by the contemplative monk St. Charbel Makhlouf, a revered figure in Lebanon.
After the event, participants made a “promise of peace and action of young people.”
Earlier in the day, Leo prayed at Makhlouf’s tomb at the Monastery of St. Maroun, located in the beautiful hills of Annaya, near Beirut, where thousands come each year to commemorate the beloved 19th-century Maronite monk, who is known for performing over 2,000 miracles. At the monastery, Leo asked that God grant the local church “communion and unity” and peace for the world.
At the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, among the most important Marian sanctuaries in the Middle East, where Christian and Muslim believers alike pay homage to the figure of Mary, Leo celebrated Mass and addressed members of the Armenian Catholic Church.
Praising the shrine as “a symbol of unity for the entire Lebanese people,” Leo expressed his hope that the church might find the “the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge.”
After two stops at religious sites recognized by all the religious denominations in the country, Leo greeted the Syrian Catholic Patriarch, the Maronite Patriarch, the Sunni grand imam and the Shiite representative for a gathering at the Martyrs Square in Beirut. The pope spoke with several leaders from across Lebanon’s diverse religious landscape, including the Protestant, Greek Orthodox and Druze representatives.
“In an ever more interconnected world, you are called to be builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence, and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice and concord for all, through the witness of your faith,” Leo said.
The religious leaders then planted an olive tree together as a sign as their joint commitment to dialogue and tolerance despite their religious differences.
