Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd during the weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Credit: Tiziana FABI/AFP)
Less than 24 hours before the arrival of Pope Leo XIV in Beirut, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced a series of measures for the first day of his visit on Sunday, including the closure of several roads along the pope’s route.
On the day of his arrival, he is scheduled to travel from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, where he will land at 3:45 p.m., to the Presidential Palace in Baabda — where he will meet President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. His departure from Lebanon is set for Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.
On this occasion, “the roads, intersections and junctions along the visit route will be closed shortly before the pope’s convoy passes by, and reopened after it passes,” the ISF announced on Saturday evening.
This means concretely that:
From 4:35 p.m. to 5:10 p.m., the road from the airport to Baabda Palace will be closed, along the following route:
Airport exit – al-Rassoul al-Azam Hospital – Imad Moghnieh Bridge – al-Safir Bridge – al-Sayyad – McDonald’s intersection – Heart of Jesus Hospital intersection – Presidential Palace.
From 5:40 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., the road from Baabda Palace to the apostolic nunciature in Harissa (Kesrouan), where the pope will stay during his visit, will also be closed, along the following route:
Heart of Jesus Hospital intersection – McDonald’s (tunnel entrance) Baabda – tunnel exit on the highway – Popeye Restaurant exit – City Center entrance – LeMall-Habtoor exit – Ministry of Energy – al-Dukhoulieh intersection (toward Dora) – eastbound from Agha Sarkissian intersection – Nahr al-Mott interchange – Nahr al-Kalb tunnel – Fouad Shehab Bridge in Jounieh – from Fouad Shehab Bridge toward Bkirki – Harissa – apostolic nunciature.
Additionally, “vehicles parked on these roads will be removed beginning at 6 a.m. (Sunday), and parking will be prohibited on both sides of these roads,” the ISF stated.
Finally, “the parking lots at Martyrs’ Square and Lazarieh, near the church and the newspaper Al-Nahar, will be evacuated starting at 11 p.m. Sunday,” the ISF also recalled, in preparation for the ecumenical and interreligious gathering scheduled for Monday at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut.
The ISF is urging citizens to comply “with the instructions and directives of ISF officers” as well as “the signage posted along the affected routes, in order to facilitate traffic flow and avoid gridlock.”
