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Monday, December 1, 2025
Pope to visit religious sites in Lebanon as he encourages Christians not to abandon region
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Pope Leo XIV plans to visit holy sites in Lebanon today that draw Christians and Muslims as he seeks to recognize the importance of the country’s religious pluralism and also send a message to Christians not to abandon the region.
Over the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left parts of the Middle East for good, driven by wars and the rise of Muslim extremists.
Leo arrived in Beirut yesterday after a visit to Turkey that began on November 27. He challenged Lebanon’s political leaders to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside as he sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East.
A Muslim-majority country where about a third of the population is Christian, Lebanon has always been a priority for the Vatican as a bulwark for Christians throughout the region.
Despite the many crises that have battered the small nation, Christians in Lebanon continue to enjoy religious freedom and significant political influence. Since the country gained independence from France in 1943, a power sharing agreement has been in place in which Lebanon’s president is a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker is a Shiite Muslim and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim.
This makes Lebanon the only Arab country with a Christian head of state.
Leo is scheduled to visit the Tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon today, both north of the capital. The sites draw large numbers of Christian and Muslim visitors and pilgrims.
The Times of Israel Community.