BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Beirut on Sunday on the second stop of his first overseas trip since becoming pontiff in May, coming from Türkiye.

The pope was welcomed at Rafik Hariri International Airport by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.

Crowds gathered along the road from the airport to the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, to welcome the pope.

Lebanon “warmly welcomes” the pontiff at a critical moment for the country, Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos wrote on US social media company X, saying more than 1,000 journalists are covering the visit.

The visit brings “great hope to a people struggling with crises” he added.

The pope traveled from Türkiye early Sunday and was seen off in Istanbul by senior Turkish officials.

His three-day visit to Lebanon includes meetings with the president, parliament speaker and prime minister, followed by sessions with civil society groups and diplomats before the pope moves to the apostolic nunciature in Harissa, north of Beirut.

On Monday, he will visit the town of Annaya, home to the Mar Charbel monastery, to pray at the Shrine of Saint Charbel.

He will also meet bishops, priests and pastoral workers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, followed by a private meeting with Catholic patriarchs at the nunciature.

The pope will also join an interfaith and ecumenical gathering in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut before ending the day with a meeting with young people at the Maronite patriarchal complex in Bkerke.

On Tuesday, he will visit medical staff and patients at the Sisters of the Cross Hospital in Jal el-Dib and hold a silent prayer at the Beirut port blast site.

The visit will end with a Mass on Beirut’s waterfront and an official farewell ceremony at the airport.