Lebanon awaits pontiff's arrival with hope, faith

Lebanon's population - are not the only ones looking forward to Leo's arrival.

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Many here hope his visit will be a portent for peace, bringing attention to this tiny Mediterranean nation as it contends with a Job-like succession of crises: First the economy, which crashed in 2019, tanking the banking system and the currency with it; then the port explosion in 2020; and the war between the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Israel, which flared in 2023 before intensifying late last year and left thousands dead and wide swaths of Lebanon's south and east pulverized.

Despite a ceasefire brokered last November, Israel has launched near daily attacks on its northern neighbor, justifying its strikes as a bid to stop Hezbollah from reconstituting itself, even as the United Nations tallied more than 10,000 air and ground violations in Lebanese territory and 127 civilians killed in the year since the ceasefire took effect.

Israel's attacks have also paralyzed reconstruction efforts, meaning most residents of Lebanese border towns - whether dominated by Christians, Muslims or Druze - have been unable to piece back their prewar lives. The U.N.'s human rights office says around 64,000 Lebanese remain displaced.

Safety concerns for the pope have been paramount in people's minds for months. In October, in what appeared to be a hot mic moment, Jordan's Queen Rania asked the pope during a photo op at the Vatican whether it was safe to go to Lebanon. "Well, we're going," Leo gruffly replied.