Pope to meet Lebanese Christian leaders to pray for ‘the gift of peace and stability’

Pope Francis on Sunday said he would meet with Lebanese Christian leaders to “pray together for the gift of peace and stability,” as the country continues to recover from a large chemical explosion at a Beirut port last year that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Reuters reported that Francis, in his weekly blessing, said that his meeting in the Vatican set to take place on Tuesday will be “a day of reflection on the worrying situation in the country.”

The blast in Beirut last year weakened the country’s economy, which was already facing turmoil, Reuters noted.

Francis, however, promised to visit Lebanon if its politicians came to an agreement on a new government, the wire service noted.

Prime Minister designate Saad al-Hariri, according to Reuters, has been in disagreement for months with President Michel Aoun over cabinet positions.

The Vatican did not reveal which of Lebanon’s three main Christian denominations – Maronite Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Melchite Catholics – would be represented at the meeting, according to Reuters.

Hariri, a three-time prime minister, left his post in 2019 following protests throughout the country against a political elite, which protesters blamed for forcing the country into crisis, the wire service reported.

He was nominated prime minister again in October, but has not been able to form a new government.

After meeting with the Pope in April, Hariri said the Francis told him he would only visit the country after a government is formed, the wire service noted.