Pope Leo XIV meets with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace of Baabda, in Beirut, November 30, 2025. ALESSANDRO DI MEO/AFP
As the blue plane carrying the pope prepared to land at the Port of Beirut, two fighter jets approached the aircraft to escort it on its descent. After three days in Turkey, in a relatively indifferent atmosphere, Leo XIV was warmly welcomed in Lebanon on Sunday, November 30, for the second stage of his first trip outside Italy since his election in May. Along the route, banners showing him greeting the crowd were hung from streets and bridges.
After a courtesy visit to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and meetings with Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Leo XIV addressed the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps. As in Turkey, he demonstrated his approach: restraint, carefully weighed words and messages left for listeners to interpret.
Praising the leaders of the country known as the Land of the Cedars, whom he was careful not to offend, the pope described them as "peacemakers in circumstances that are highly complex, conflictual and uncertain."
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