The Vatican confirmed Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV will pray at the site of the terrible Beirut port explosion in 2020 when he visits Lebanon and Turkey soon.
According to AFP, the US-born pope is going on his first trip abroad since becoming the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in May, when Pope Francis of Argentina died.
The journey starts on November 27 in Turkey and is centered on activities celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was a big deal in Church history.
Leo will also go to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and religious authorities, such as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is in charge of all Orthodox Christians in the globe.
The pope will visit Lebanon on November 30. He will meet with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and local clergy. He will also pray at the shrine of St. Charbel, the country’s patron saint.
He will pray quietly at the site of the Beirut port blast that killed more than 220 people on December 2.
The accident was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history. It destroyed parts of the Lebanese capital and hurt more than 6,500 people.
Benedict XVI was the last pope to go to Lebanon, while Francis was the last pope to go to Turkey. He went to Ankara and Istanbul in 2014.
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