“Young people of Lebanon, grow strong like the cedars and make the world blossom with hope!” he continued.

“Be the source of hope that the country is waiting for!”

Many Lebanese, particularly young people, left the country after the 2019 onset of a crushing economic crisis, widely blamed on official corruption and mismanagement, or following the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port the following year.

Fears have also grown recently of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between the foes.

‘Coexistence’

Stephanie Nasr, 25, said she was “very moved” by the Pope’s message.

“Of course it’s a message of peace, but it’s also recognition of all the resilience that we’ve shown, and the solidarity that Lebanon and young people have displayed in recent years,” she said.

Pope Leo also met with leaders from Lebanon’s myriad religious communities in a show of unity.

“You are called to be builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice,” he told them.

“In an age when co-existence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon … stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation and peace are possible,” he added.

While long hailed as a model of co-existence, Lebanon was devastated by a 1975-1990 civil war waged along sectarian lines, and the country is still plagued by deep rifts.

Leo visited a monastery hosting the tomb of Saint Charbel, who enjoys broad popularity in Lebanon beyond the Christian community.

“For the world, we ask for peace. We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant,” he said.

In Harissa, where a giant statue of Our Lady of Lebanon overlooks the Mediterranean from a plunging hilltop, Leo shook hands with religious people and pastoral workers who had gathered for a packed event in the nearby basilica.

Prayer “gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge”, he told attendees.

‘Message of peace’

Tony Elias, 43, a priest from the village of Rmeish along Lebanon’s border with Israel, said that “we have lived through nearly two and a half years of war, but have never been without hope”.

Leo “has come to confirm that what we have gone through has not been in vain, and we believe that he brings a real message of peace – a living peace”, he said.

In spite of the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon, intensifying its attacks in recent weeks, and the cash-strapped Lebanese government has come under heavy US pressure to disarm the Iran-backed militants.

-Agence France-Presse