‘There’s No Peace Without Justice’ — Rain-Soaked Crowds Roar as Pope Leo Calls for Peace

In rainy Beirut, Pope Leo XIV was greeted like a rockstar by 15,000 young Lebanese — a sharp contrast to his quiet stop in Turkey. The American pope used the moment to urge Middle East peace.

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Pope Leo XIV’s first full day in Lebanon began in quiet prayer, but it quickly turned into an outpouring of joyful noise. In the morning the pope visited the tomb of St. Charbel, a beloved Lebanese saint.

Despite intermittent rain, thousands of people lined the road to the monastery, tossing rose petals and rice in welcome.

Billboards across Beirut heralded the papal visit, and folk dancers even performed for him in the downpour.

A blind children’s choir sang, and nuns reached out to kiss Leo’s hand as his motorcade passed by. Muslim women in hijabs stood alongside Christian families, waving Lebanese and Vatican flags.

After a subdued three-day stop in 99% Muslim Turkey, the exuberant welcome in Lebanon — a nation with a substantial Christian population — finally felt like a papal trip.

Leo came to Lebanon as a self-described pilgrim of peace, and the motto for his visit — “Blessed are the peacemakers” — made that clear.

Peace was the theme of his journey from the start. On his flight to Beirut, the pope told reporters that the Holy See still supports a two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it “the only solution” and offering the Vatican as a mediating voice for a just peace.

At an official welcome in Baabda Palace, Leo praised Lebanon as a land where peace is “a gift and a work in progress.”

He urged the country’s politicians to seek truth and reconciliation in a society scarred by conflict and crisis.

Christian and Muslim dignitaries stood side by side with him at an interfaith gathering in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, underscoring a shared hope that Lebanon “not be forgotten” and can build a future free of war.

Rain and Rapture at the Youth Rally

By Monday evening, that message of hope exploded into full celebration. The pope’s motorcade ascended to the Marian hillside of Bkerké, where an outdoor rally with Lebanese youth awaited.

An estimated 15,000 young people packed the hillside, their excitement electric. “Pope Leo! Pope Leo!” they chanted as he arrived.

Here are the highlights of his speech: