‘A breath of hope’: Pope Leo XIV encourages Lebanese priests through video call
Pope Leo XIV spoke via video call with about 10 priests working in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, encouraging them to press ahead with their pastoral work and acts of solidarity while facing the hardships caused by the war.
The call took place May 6 during Pope Leo’s audience in Rome with the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia.
During the video call, which took place around 9:45 a.m. Rome time, the Holy Father, who visited Lebanon in December 2025 on his first international trip, reiterated his “encouragement” to the priests “for the work they are doing,” assured them of his prayers, and imparted his blessing, according to Vatican News.
The archbishop, well aware of the suffering endured by the priests there, has been working in the border region with Israel for several months delivering food, basic necessities, and the pope’s encouragement.
Father Toni Elias, parish priest in Rmeish, a village separated from Israel by a forest, said the video call “was beautiful. The pope encouraged us; he told us that he prays for us and supports us, and he gave us his blessing with the hope that peace would soon be achieved.”
“It was a breath of hope and trust that was much needed,” he emphasized.
Regarding Borgia, the priest remarked that “he brings charity; he walks through danger, through bombed-out streets and houses that have been destroyed and razed to the ground. I see in him the mission of his patron saint, St. Paul.”
A priest killed in March
On March 9, Pope Leo XIV expressed his sorrow over the death of Father Pierre al-Rahi, a victim of Israeli shelling that took place that day in southern Lebanon.
“Pope Leo XIV expresses his profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East these past few days, for the many innocent people, including numerous children, and for those who were helping them, such as Father Pierre al-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa,” stated a communiqué that day from the Vatican Press Office.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/middle-east/a-breath-of-hope-leo-xiv-encourages-lebanese-priests
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