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THE CLERGY AND YOUNG PEOPLE MEET POPE LEONE XIV

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Lebanon  ||  | 01 December 2025
Iniziative (EN) - Maison de la Paix (EN)

Harissa. 1 December 2025. 11:30 a.m. The Pope is captivated by the atmosphere and beauty of the Shrine, which he does not hide even when he greets those present by saying ‘Good morning’ in Arabic:
"Dear brothers in the Episcopate, priests, men and women religious, brothers and sisters, good morning! Good morning! It is with great joy that I meet you during this journey, whose motto is “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). The Church in Lebanon, united in its many faces, is an icon of these words, as St John Paul II, who was so fond of your people, said."
There are many friends in the Shrine whom we are finally able to greet. Among them is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who is surprised to see us on this occasion and moved by the welcome given to the Pope.
Beirut. Martyrs' Square. 1 December 2025. 4 p.m. We take our seats at the back, from where we have a striking view of the mosque in the background. The setting is spectacular: the central base with the word ‘Peace’ written in several languages, the olive tree and other details symbolising peace.
After greeting the representatives of the various religious denominations, Pope Leone XIV addresses the participants in the meeting with these words:
“Dear brothers and sisters, I am deeply moved and immensely grateful to be among you today, in this blessed land: a land exalted by the prophets of the Old Testament, who contemplated in its imposing cedars emblems of the righteous soul that flourishes under the watchful gaze of heaven...”.
Bkerké. 1 December 2025. 5.45 p.m. The Pope arrives dazed by his previous meetings but is immediately “nourished” by the “positive wave of young people” who caress him with sounds, shouts and invocations.
After listening to songs and watching dances, and after a few speeches by representatives of the young people, Pope Leone XIV reads his greeting:
“Assalamu lakum! (Peace be with you). Dear young people of Lebanon, assalamu lakum!
This is the greeting of the risen Jesus (cf. Jn 20:19) and it sustains the joy of our meeting: the enthusiasm we feel in our hearts expresses the loving closeness of God, who brings us together as brothers and sisters to share our faith in Him and our communion with one another... Let us look at the wonderful examples left to us by the saints! Let us think of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, two young people who were canonised in this Holy Year of Jubilee. Let us look at the many Lebanese saints. What singular beauty is evident in the life of Saint Rafqa, who with strength and gentleness endured years of suffering from illness! How many acts of compassion were performed by Blessed Yakub El-Haddad, helping those most abandoned and forgotten by everyone! What a powerful light comes from the darkness into which Saint Charbel decided to withdraw, he who has become one of the symbols of Lebanon in the world! His eyes are always depicted as closed, as if to hold back an infinitely greater mystery. Through the eyes of Saint Charbel, closed in order to see God better, we continue to perceive God's light more clearly. The song dedicated to him is beautiful: "O thou who sleepest, and thy eyes are light unto ours, upon thy eyelids a grain of incense hath blossomed".