{"id":149042,"date":"2025-12-05T10:09:40","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cgfmanet.org\/infosphere\/il-papa-in-libano-segno-di-pace-e-speranza\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T21:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T20:53:06","slug":"the-pope-in-lebanon-a-sign-of-peace-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cgfmanet.org\/en\/infosphere\/the-pope-in-lebanon-a-sign-of-peace-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pope in Lebanon: a sign of peace and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beirut (Lebanon).<\/strong> From 27 November to 2 December 2025, Pope Leo XIV completed his first apostolic journey<\/a><\/span><\/strong> in Turkey and Lebanon, a journey that was a sign of fraternity and peace, a call for unity among the Churches and the presence of hope among the people. On the afternoon of 30 November, he landed at Beirut International Airport. On 1 and 2 December, some Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Jesus Adolescent\u00a0 Province (MOR), with collaborators and young people, were able to participate in various moments of this historic visit.<\/p>\n

The paternal embrace of the Church in Harissa <\/strong><\/h3>\n

On the morning of 1 December\u00a0 in Harissa, at\u00a0 the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon – the most important of the Marian shrines in the Middle East, built in 1904 on the 50th<\/sup>\u00a0 anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX – Pope Leo met Cardinals, Patriarchs, Bishops, priests, deacons, and a large representation of consecrated men and women, including the FMAs of Lebanon, together with lay collaborators. Among them, Mother General Emerita of the FMA Institute, Sister Yvonne Reungoat, was also present.<\/p>\n

The event was unanimously perceived as a strong sign of the Holy Father’s paternal presence and his heartfelt interest in Lebanon and the entire Middle East, as a gesture of closeness and solidarity at a difficult time. The FMAs experienced the meeting with tangible emotion. The atmosphere, charged with faith and hope, has been able to transcend the serious economic and political crisis afflicting the country.<\/p>\n

After listening to some testimonies, Pope Leo XIV in his speech emphasized the pressing need for peace, unity, and perseverance in faith and expressed appreciation for the communion in charity that has been built. \u201cFrom these roots, strong and deep like those of the cedars, love grows and, with God’s help, concrete and lasting works of solidarity come to life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Although part of a dense program that included ecumenical meetings and a visit to the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, the meeting in Harissa had a strong Marian and spiritual connotation, in which the Pope recognized the Shrine as a \u201csign of unity for all the Lebanese people. It is in being with Mary at the Cross of Jesus that our prayer, an invisible bridge that unites hearts, gives us the strength to continue hoping and working, even when the sound of weapons thunders around us and the very demands of daily life become a challenge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/em>Pope Leo also spoke of responsibility towards young people, \u201cOnly in this way can we once again hope for tomorrow, despite the harshness of a difficult present to face. (\u2026) It is important to encourage their presence, even in ecclesial structures, appreciating their contribution of novelty and giving them space. And it is necessary, despite the rubble of a world that has its painful failures, to offer them concrete and viable prospects for rebirth and growth for the future.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bTaking up the testimony of Sister Dima, who, faced with the outbreak of violence, chose to keep the school open \u201cmaking it a place of reception for refugees and an educational center of extraordinary effectiveness.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0He also encouraged all those present, \u201cto continue in this praiseworthy work, especially to meet those in need and without means, those who find themselves in extreme situations, with choices marked by the most generous charity, so that the education of the heart is always united with the formation of the mind<\/strong>\u201d. <\/em>(complete text<\/a><\/strong><\/span>)<\/p>\n

The FMAs and their lay collaborators left the Sanctuary with hearts filled with hope and the renewed strength to continue their mission, supported by the closeness of the Successor of Peter.<\/p>\n\r\n