Pope Leo ends first foreign trip with prayer, Mass at Beirut blast site
Pope Leo XIV offered a silent prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion as he wrapped up his first foreign trip to Turkiye and Lebanon on Tuesday.
He met with relatives of some of the 218 victims of the blast on Aug. 4, 2020.
The explosion tore through Beirut and did billions of dollars in damage after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse.
No official has been convicted in a judicial investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed, angering Lebanese for whom the blast was just the latest crisis after decades of corruption and financial crimes. When he arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, Leo urged the country’s political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of peace and reconciliation in the country.
Leo sought to bring a message of peace to Lebanon as it copes with years of economic and political crises.
‘Forgotten souls’
The American pope opened his final day with an emotional visit to the De La Croix hospital, which specializes in care for people with psychological problems.
The mother superior of the congregation that runs the hospital, Mother Marie Makhlouf, was overcome as she welcomed the Pontiff. She told him that her hospital cares for the “forgotten souls, burdened by their loneliness.”
In his remarks to the patients and staff, Leo said the facility stands as a reminder to all of humanity.
“We cannot forget those who are most fragile. We cannot conceive of a society that races ahead at full speed clinging to the false myths of well-being, while at the same time ignoring so many situations of poverty and vulnerability,” he said.
The road leading to the hospital was lined by thousands of women, men and children who waved Lebanese and Vatican flags.
‘Swiss guards’
Among those who waited to greet Pope Leo at the hospital were throngs of children dressed as Swiss Guards in colorful gold, red and blue ceremonial uniforms.
Seamstresses worked for three months to make the outfits for the children, Sister Teresa Azar said.
The crowd also included cardinals in their red cassocks and a boy dressed as the pope in white.
The Pope was received upon arrival by officials at the hospital, where about 175 nuns work.
The hospital has a capacity of 1,200 patients and currently has about 700 patients mostly being treated for mental health illness and epilepsy and some for drug addiction.
A hall inside was packed with hundreds of patients and scores of nuns.
“There was a rainbow over the monastery of the cross today. This is a sign of grace and blessing. We will not say anything more than God’s word,” said Jihan Khoriaty, a nun who works at De La Croix. “The word of nature today was the biggest good sign.”
The blast was fueled by hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port and flattened several neighborhoods.
