Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Tiziana FABI/AFP)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will travel to the Vatican in the coming days, where he will be received by Pope Leo XIV, who is himself expected in Lebanon at the end of November, a source confirmed to L’Orient-Le Jour.
On Sunday, while receiving Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on the sidelines of the canonization ceremony for Bishop Ignace Maloyan, Pope Leo XIV described his upcoming trip to Lebanon as "a message of peace and hope."
The Holy Father will make his apostolic visit to Lebanon from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, following a stop in Turkey from Nov. 27 to 30 for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a major event in the history of Christianity. This trip will be his first international tour since his election on May 8.
In September, Vatican sources indicated that preparations were underway for this trip to Lebanon, without giving further details, sparking excitement among the country's faithful, as Pope Francis had not been able to visit.
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