Pope Leo XIV

Pro-Hezbollah media focused on the Pope's message of dialogue but fears the visit will be merely symbolic, failing to address the "real challenges" facing the country.

"We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first US pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon.

Pope Leo XIV begins a three-day visit to Lebanon, meeting leaders, touring five cities, and honoring victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi urged Hezbollah to break from Iran and give its weapons to the Lebanese Army, calling diplomacy the only path to avoid another war.

Catholic leaders visited the basilica beneath Lake Iznik, believed to be the site of the First Council of Nicaea, after falling water levels revealed the submerged ruins.

Pope Leo's 3-day visit to Lebanon comes as the country faces escalating Hezbollah–Israel tensions. His trip includes appeals for peace, key meetings, and a prayer at the Beirut port blast site.

Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, but was not welcomed by the head of Turkey's state-run religious organization despite earlier plans.

The first US pope will attend a celebration for the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early Church council, held in modern Turkey.

Turkey has emerged as one of the harshest critics of Israel's war in Gaza with Hamas.

On his first trip abroad as pontiff, Pope Leo travels to Turkey and Lebanon, calling for Middle East peace and Christian unity as global attention follows closely.