Pope wraps up Lebanon visit with silent prayer at site of 2020 port explosion

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BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Pope Leo XIV visited the site of a deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion and offered a silent prayer on the last day of his trip to Lebanon.

Leo was also expected to meet with relatives of some of the 218 people killed by the blast, which tore through Beirut and did billions of dollars in damage after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse.

Five years on, these families are still seeking justice. No official has been convicted in a judicial investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed, angering Lebanese for whom the blast was just the latest crisis after decades of corruption and financial crimes.

When he arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, Leo urged the country's political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of peace and reconciliation.

The American pope opened his final day with a visit to the De La Croix hospital, which specializes in care for people with psychological problems, and is expected to close it with a Mass along the Beirut waterfront before returning to Rome.

Leo sought to bring a message of peace to Lebanon as it copes with years of economic and political crises, punctuated by the port blast. On Monday, he presided over a gathering of Lebanon's Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders, celebrating the country's interfaith coexistence as a potent message of peace in the conflict-plagued region.

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