The pope arriving in Bkirki on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'OLJ)
BEIRUT — Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received a letter of thanks Wednesday from Pope Leo XIV, in which the pontiff encouraged him to continue pursuing dialogue so that Lebanon remains “a living model of hope and peace.” The pope also sent a letter to President Joseph Aoun.
In his letter to Berri, the pope extended his “best wishes” to Berri and said he prayed that God grant him “perfect health and abundant vitality.” He said he was “impressed by the spirit of cooperation and the determination to face difficulties and turn them into opportunities for encounter and dialogue.
“I encourage you to continue on this noble path, so that Lebanon may always remain a living model of hope and peace,” the pope wrote.
Referring to his recent visit, the pontiff said he wished to express his gratitude to Berri and to the Lebanese people for the “warm and affectionate welcome” extended to him and his delegation.
“During the days I spent among you, I felt that Lebanon is a living model of courage and resilience,” he wrote, adding that the Lebanese are called to work together to preserve a culture of peace and reconciliation despite ongoing challenges.
According to a message from the Lebanese presidency, the pope "prays to God that President Aoun will be supported in the exercise of his heavy responsibilities and that his steps will be strengthened in the service of Lebanon."
The message also emphasizes that the Pope "retains happy and vivid memories of his meetings in Lebanon" and addresses the president and his family, as well as "all Lebanese people," offering them "his most sincere wishes for happiness, lasting stability, and peace."
Separately, Druze Sheikh Aql Sami Abi al-Mona on Tuesday received the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, who conveyed the pope’s greetings and delivered a letter thanking him for the welcome extended during the visit.
Pope Leo XIV paid an official three-day visit to Lebanon from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, 2025. He was received by senior officials and met with religious leaders in downtown Beirut on Dec. 1, youths at the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkirki, patients and staff at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross in Jal al-Dib (Metn), and families of victims of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion. He celebrated a large Mass in Beirut on Dec. 2.
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