Cardinal Rahi: Pope Leo in Lebanon 'by the end of the year,' waiting for official confirmation
The Maronite patriarch said that the pontiff is expected by “December”. This visit could be part of the trip to Nicaea, in the footsteps of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. The Holy See has not provided any official information. A cautious approach prevails due to tensions in the southern Lebanon (one death today) and the controversy over Hezbollah's demilitarisation.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – The news yesterday sparked a media storm both in Lebanon and Italy: according to Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi, Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Lebanon "by December," in what would be his first visit outside Italy since his election.
“We are waiting for the Vatican to announce the exact date of the visit,” explained the head of the Maronite Church, in front of the cameras of Al-Arabiya TV. On the Lebanese MTV website, journalist Dany Haddad even said, vaguely citing presidential and patriarchal sources, that the pontiff would arrive in Lebanon on 30 November for a three-day visit.
The Holy See has not confirmed this information.
In Lebanon, Church sources say that a papal visit was in the planning stage during Francis’s pontificate, but that it was postponed for reasons related to both the Holy Father's health and Lebanon’s unstable internal situation.
According to a well-informed source close to the Patriarchal See, protocol requires that papal visits abroad be announced simultaneously by the Holy See, the local Church, and the government of the host country, not by any of these on their own. According to this source, until this triple announcement is made, "the existence of preparations is all that can be said about a visit by the Holy Father to Lebanon."
Caution
In media circles, it is believed that the Holy See has not yet announced the visit or provided any dates for it as a precautionary measure to first ensure the security situation, which is essential to the event.
This comes at a delicate time in the country's life, marked by ongoing Israeli raids against Hezbollah targets, particularly in South Lebanon, and the pro-Iranian party's firm refusal to surrender its weapons in accordance with a decision taken by the Lebanese cabinet (5 and 7 August) and Security Council Resolution 1701. This refusal is accompanied by street protests, and, by implication, the threat of the use of weapons.
In any case, even if the information turns out to be correct, it appears that Lebanon will not be the destination of Leo XIV's first trip outside Italy; the latter should instead be to Nicaea (present-day Iznik, Turkey), as part of the celebrations planned for the 1,700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council (325-2025).
If this visit does take place, it would be on the feast of Saint Andrew (November 30), thus precluding the visit to Lebanon. However, Turkey is still impatiently awaiting confirmation of the Holy Father's visit, notes the source cited above.
Aspirations for unity and interreligious dialogue
Both visits, if confirmed, are primarily part of the same underlying aspiration: the restoration of unity between Catholics and Orthodox, a unity whose importance was quickly recognised by the Eastern patriarchs and the faithful of the Middle East, given the upheavals that have marked the region since the US invasion of Iraq (2003), and the mass exodus of Christians from that country and, more recently, from Syria.
In Lebanon’s case, Leo XIV's visit should benefit from the progress in interreligious dialogue made by his three predecessors: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.
From Abu Dhabi and Najaf to Ramallah, Jerusalem and even Bahrain, via Cairo, this has made it possible to establish significant human and theological relations between the Catholic Church and Islam for the purpose of dissociating faith and violence and protect religions as much as possible from any political use.
One of the great achievements of such an effort was the 2019 Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity, World Peace and Living Together signed by Pope Francis and Ahmad el-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar University (Cairo). The other was the visit Francis made in 2021, in Najaf (Iraq), to Ayatollah Sistani, the world’s foremost Shia authority, whose views are in profound disagreement with the militant Shiism defended by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
A visit by Pope Leo to Lebanon would include pastoral, evangelical, and social aspects, touching on relations between Christian political forces, concern for the underprivileged, exaltation of monastic life, and a visit to Lebanese "holy places", like the holy valley of Kadisha, the heart of Maronite monastic life, Harissa, Annaya, and other great shrines. The highlight of the visit would be an open-air mass.
.png)
