Pope may visit Lebanon once new government is formed
Pope Francis met Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in Vatican City today.
The head of the Catholic Church may visit Lebanon soon.
Pope Francis met with Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in Vatican City today. The pope offered his best wishes to Lebanon, describing the economic and political crisis in the country as a “moment of great difficulty and uncertainty.” He also said he hopes to “visit the country as soon as conditions are favorable,” according to a Vatican press release.
A papal visit to Lebanon would be historic due to the country’s large Maronite Catholic population. Lebanon has the largest Christian community in the Middle East with additional populations of Greek Catholics, Orthodox and Armenians, among others.
The news follows Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq in March. The trip included a speech in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region, which has a large population of Chaldean Catholics and other Aramaic-speaking Christians that constitutes one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. He also visited the Ninevah Plains where additional Assyrian and Syriac Christians live.
