LEBANON: Pope prays at port blast site
The pope led prayers at the site of the Beirut port explosion and met with relatives who lost loved ones in the blast, yesterday (2nd December).
At the close of his three-day visit to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV prayed just a stone’s throw from the epicentre of the disaster which devastated the capital on 4th August 2020 – including part of the city’s Christian Quarter.
Following prayers, the pontiff met relatives of the at least 218 people who died, including Tatiana Hasrouty who lost her father in the blast.
The 24-year-old lawyer told Vatican News how she had also been presented to the previous pope when he visited in 2024.
She said: “I was one of the people who met Pope Francis, and it gave us hope that he was looking at us, that he was listening to us.
“With the visit of Pope Leo, we now know that the Vatican sees us and feels our pain.
“He is standing here, in the place where most of the victims died, to pray, and that sends a message of hope to the world, because the families of the victims include not only Christians like us, but also Muslims.
“I think this is the greatest message he is giving us right now – to remain united in prayer and in the hope of finding the truth.”
No one has been held accountable for the disaster, which occurred when a fire ignited unsafely stored ammonium nitrate.
In addition to the deaths at least 6,000 were injured and more than 300,000 were made homeless.
Melkite Archbishop Georges Wadih Bacouni of Beirut told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) there had been political interference in the judicial enquiry and lamented that it had been “paralysed due to the intervention of the politicians.”
Archbishop Bacouni went on: “But the families of the victims have the right to know. Hundreds were killed, and thousands were injured, there was a lot of damage, but until now, after five years, we know nothing – it’s incredible.”
Following the explosion in 2020, which damaged around 90,000 homes, ACN provided more than €5 million (more than £4.25 million) in help. As well as food and emergency aid, the charity helped with the repair and reconstruction of Church-run buildings including St George’s Maronite Cathedral and part of the complex of the Holy Rosary Sisters’ hospital.
After praying at the blast site, Pope Leo celebrated Mass on Beirut’s waterfront for an estimated 150,000 people.
Archbishop Bacouni told ACN that the pope’s visit would resonate with everyone in the country.
He said. “They feel that the pope is coming close to their wounds and close to the people who suffer the most.
“These two stops have a deep emotional importance for the Lebanese. His message is clear – their pain is not forgotten.”
