Beirut: Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lebanon on Sunday to a rare moment of national convergence, carrying a message of unity for a country long torn between coexistence and collapse.

His entry into the capital, Beirut, unfolded amid sweeping official receptions and striking popular scenes-including Hezbollah's al-Mahdi Scouts lining the airport road-as crowds from across Lebanon gathered to welcome a pontiff seeking to mend the fractures of a nation in crisis.

The Pontiff's visit, steeped in symbolism, seeks to rekindle unity in a country where communities feel increasingly abandoned, yet still bound by a shared yearning for dignity, stability and peace.

Lebanon is the second stop on Leo's first official foreign trip, after Türkiye, where he marked an important Christian anniversary.

In Istanbul, Leo held two major appointments before boarding his flight to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation spurred the trip.

At the Armenian Cathedral, Leo praised the“courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances”-a reference to the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Francis had previously called the slaughter a“genocide”, prompting anger in Türkiye, which rejects that label. Leo's tone, while acknowledging Armenian suffering, was more diplomatic.

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