Pope Leo XIV in silent prayer at the site of the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut on Dec. 2, 2025. (Credit: Yara Nardi/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Contrasting with the crowds and cheers that accompanied him on much of his three-day visit in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV stood silently, head bowed, in a private moment of reflection on Tuesday at the Beirut Port, in honor of the more than 220 victims of the Aug. 4 blast.The area around the Port was cleared several hours before he arrived from a visit to the psychiatric hospital of the Sisters of the Cross in Jal al-Dib. Many rose at dawn to follow the pope's movements and ensure they didn't miss a thing before he returned to the Vatican. The atmosphere in Beirut held some of the lightness of an autumn day circa 2019 and even the sense of hope found during that times' thawra or revolution.Carole said she had come to see the pope as a way of getting "a little respite" from the tense atmosphere fed by Israel's...
BEIRUT — Contrasting with the crowds and cheers that accompanied him on much of his three-day visit in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV stood silently, head bowed, in a private moment of reflection on Tuesday at the Beirut Port, in honor of the more than 220 victims of the Aug. 4 blast.The area around the Port was cleared several hours before he arrived from a visit to the psychiatric hospital of the Sisters of the Cross in Jal al-Dib. Many rose at dawn to follow the pope's movements and ensure they didn't miss a thing before he returned to the Vatican. The atmosphere in Beirut held some of the lightness of an autumn day circa 2019 and even the sense of hope found during that times' thawra or revolution.Carole said she had come to see the pope as a way of getting "a little respite" from the tense atmosphere fed by...