Pope Leo XIV heads to Lebanon with a message of peace for the crisis-hit nation after wrapping up a four-day trip to Turkey’s tiny Christian community that focused on unity within the Church.
Ending the first part of his maiden overseas tour since being elected leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Leo boards the papal plane which left Istanbul for Beirut, where he was expected to arrive around 3:45 p.m. (1345 GMT).
The two-nation tour is the first major international test for the first American pope, who was elected in May and whose understated style contrasts with that of his charismatic and impulsive predecessor, Francis.
Although Leo’s visit drew little attention in Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation whose Christian community numbers only around 100,000, his 48-hour stopover is eagerly awaited in Lebanon, a religiously diverse country of 5.8 million inhabitants.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, November 30, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
