Pope Leo XIV greeting President Joseph Aoun and his wife on May 18, 2025, at the Vatican. (Credit: Lebanese presidency.)
BEIRUT — The President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, was received on Friday at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. Lebanese time) by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where he has been since Thursday on an official visit with his wife, Neemat.
According to a statement released by the presidency, Aoun extended to the supreme pontiff an official invitation to visit Lebanon. “I assured him that the Lebanese intensely aspire to his blessed visit that will represent a message of peace and hope for the region, a glimmer for the end of the tunnel of crises,” Aoun stated following the visit. “I perceived a positive reaction from the pope [to this request], as well as affection,” he continued.
Aoun arrived Thursday at Ciampino military base, in the suburbs of Rome, accompanied by his wife, “for both an official and family visit to the Vatican,” according to the presidency's statement. He had already visited Rome in May to attend the installation mass of the new pope, during which he met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
In his statement, President Aoun indicated that he reaffirmed to Leo XIV “the strength of the relations between Lebanon and the Vatican,” asserting that he recalled “Lebanon remains committed to its unique mission in this troubled East, of being a land of dialogue between civilizations, an oasis of freedom of worship and cultural pluralism.”
“I was reassured by what His Holiness told me, who affirmed his continued support for Lebanon and its people, without distinction between communities, and to work to achieve the aspirations of the Lebanese for a safe, stable country, an oasis of hope, joy, and peace,” he added.
According to the Lebanese presidency, the head of state was received by the Vatican Secretary, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, following his meeting with the pope.
The visit of the head of state comes at a time when extensive Israeli attacks are being carried out against nuclear facilities in Iran.