Families of Aug. 4 victims received by Pope

Pope Francis will receive a delegation of the families of victims of the deadly Beirut port explosion on Monday morning, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The delegation, accompanied by Lebanese ecclesiastical figures, will be received by the Pope at 7:30 a.m. It includes around 20 people, among them spokespersons for the victims such as Nazih al-Adham, father of Christelle al-Adham, William Noun, brother of firefighter Joe Noun, and lawyer Cecile Roukoz, sister of Joseph Roukoz, who were killed in the tragedy.

A prolonged meeting with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and a mass led by him will take place at the Pauline Chapel. The victims' relatives will also meet with a group of journalists and NGOs to discuss the stalled investigation.

Triggered by the ignition of large quantities of poorly stored ammonium nitrate, the double explosion at the Beirut port on Aug. 4, 2020, killed at least 235 people, injured 6,500 others, and devastated entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. The local judicial investigation into the tragedy, led by Judge Tarek Bitar, has been at a standstill since February 2023 due to political interference from all sides.