Around 150,000 people gathered at Beirut's waterfront for mass with Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday morning, the highlight of the Catholic leader's visit to the capital, where he delivered a message of hope and peace.

The pontiff arrived from Turkey on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pope and brought a message of hope, particularly to young people in Lebanon whose faith in their country has dwindled.

He has received a jubilant welcome in a nation beset by a years-long economic collapse and which is still reeling from a war last year between Israel and militant group Hezbollah, with many fearing renewed hostilities.

Lebanon, he told the crowd during his homily, is "overshadowed by the many problems that afflict you, the fragile and often unstable political context, the dramatic economic

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