Pope Leo will meet leaders from Lebanon’s diverse religious sects on Monday and is expected to urge Lebanese not to abandon their country despite years of conflict, political paralysis and economic crisis that have prompted waves of migration.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, visited Lebanon’s Catholic community before hosting a dialogue with members of the Sunni Muslim, Shi’ite and Druze communities, as well as migrant workers and other Christians.

The pope, on what he has described as a mission of peace, has urged Lebanon’s leaders to persevere with peace efforts in the aftermath of last year’s devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and continued Israeli strikes.

Raising Hope

Leo, 70, is visiting Lebanon until Tuesday on the second leg of his first overseas trip, which started in Turkey.

“Our prayer … gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons,” he said on Monday at Harissa, a Catholic shrine perched on a mountaintop overlooking the Mediterranean just north of Beirut.

Leo has a crowded itinerary on Monday. He visited the tomb of St. Charbel, a Catholic saint revered across the region, before heading to the shrine, known for an 8.5 metre tall (28 ft) statue of the Virgin Mary looking over Beirut.

People inside the worship space ululated as the pope arrived, pressing in to greet him with shouts of “Viva il Papa” (Long live the pope).

“We have really been waiting for the pope’s visit because it is raising our hope now,” said Rev. Toni Elias, a Maronite priest from Rmeich, a Christian town close to the Israeli border. The Maronites are an eastern-rite Catholic community and the largest Christian sect in Lebanon.

“We believe that he brings with him the message of peace, which we really need.”

Before speaking at the shrine, Leo heard testimonies from people living in Lebanon. Loren Capobres, a Filipino migrant in the country for 17 years told Leo about her experience living through war.

The pope said stories like hers show the need to “take a stand to ensure that no one else will have to flee from his or her country due to senseless and cruel conflicts.”

Pope To Visit Port Blast Site

Lebanon, which has the largest share of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza conflict, as Israel and the Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah went to war, culminating in a devastating Israeli offensive.

The country, which hosts 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, also is struggling to emerge from a severe economic crisis following decades of profligate spending that sent the economy into a tailspin in late 2019.

Leo will host a meeting with young people, where he is expected to urge them to work for peace in a country still being hit by near-daily Israeli bombardment.

Israel says its continued strikes since last year’s ceasefire agreement are to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing military capabilities and posing a renewed threat to communities in northern Israel.

His schedule for Tuesday includes a prayer at the site of a 2020 chemical explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused damage worth billions of dollars.

He will also lead an outdoor Mass on the Beirut waterfront and visit a psychiatric hospital, one of the few mental health facilities in Lebanon, where carers and residents are eagerly anticipating his arrival.

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(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; additional reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Sharon Singleton)