BEIRUT — Holy icons no longer witness Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Lebanese capital and there are no pews five years after an explosion in the main port sent a devastating shock wave through the city.

While new slabs of white marble have replaced the old floor and the walls are freshly painted, the Rev. Miled Abboud is hopeful that Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the blast site Tuesday will highlight the amount of rebuilding that still needs to be done. He also believes Leo's visit will bring “a message of hope” and reconciliation between Lebanon’s diverse Christian communities — a large number of whom have left in recent years — and coexistence with the majority Muslim population.

“The pope’s visit is a sign of hope,” Abboud told NBC News on Saturday. “There are a lot

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