Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 2, 2025 / 03:15 am

Pope Leo XIV paused on the final morning of his trip to Lebanon before the ruins of the Beirut port explosion, praying in silence and placing a wreath in memory of the victims. He also met families of those killed and survivors still carrying the wounds of the 2020 blast.

The pope lit a candle and laid down a wreath of red flowers at the site, and seemed at one point to hold back tears. Afterwards, he spoke with family members of victims, some of whom who were holding photographs of their relatives killed in the blast.

The pope’s silent prayer at the port unfolded against an unresolved search for justice, a grief still felt across Lebanon.

Five years after the August 4, 2020 explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history, families of

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