A Hezbollah delegation visited the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital on Wednesday to be at the bedside of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara al-Rai, who underwent hip surgery on Sunday in Beirut following a fall during the Easter Mass, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports.

The delegation notably included Mohammad Khansa (Aou Said), head of Islamic-Christian relations within the party, as well as MP Amine Sherri.

According to a statement from Hezbollah’s press service, the delegation members discussed with the patriarch "several important internal issues." Rai stated the need to "work on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, in accordance with resolution 1701, and to cooperate with the president of the Republic to preserve the country."

The delegation members also wished him a speedy recovery and offered their condolences following the death of Pope Francis, which occurred on Monday.

At 85 years old, Patriarch Rai stumbled on his cassock while heading to the altar and fractured his hip. Despite President Joseph Aoun's offer, who was present at the service, to suspend the mass for a rest, he insisted on continuing the celebration. At the end of the mass, he was transferred to the hospital, where he successfully underwent surgery.