Pope Leo visits Beirut blast site

Pope Leo visited the Beirut port blast site, laying a wreath, lighting a candle and offering a silent prayer that bereaved families said renewed hope for accountability five years after the 2020 chemical explosion that killed more than 220 people and devastated large parts of the city. He greeted survivors and relatives, handed out rosaries and listened to personal pleas; many attendees said his presence signalled that their suffering had not been forgotten and urged Lebanon’s politicians and judiciary to pursue justice.

Relatives and rights groups have long demanded a preliminary indictment to establish who knew about the hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the port and to identify the chain of responsibility. Families say the official probe has been obstructed by political interference, leaving victims’ kin frustrated by a lack of progress. Those who lost loved ones described the pope’s quiet gesture as a meaningful expression of solidarity: “someone cares about my pain,” one woman said, while another pointed to the pope’s reputation for seeking justice and called on national leaders to heed his message.

The visit was part of the pope’s wider three-day trip to Lebanon, the second leg of an overseas journey that began in Turkey, during which he repeatedly appealed for peace across the Middle East and urged leaders to abandon cycles of hostility. At a large waterfront Mass that drew about 150,000 worshippers, he pleaded for new approaches to overcome political, social and religious divisions and warned of the dangers posed by ongoing conflicts. He also offered prayers for other crises, including political disputes in Guinea-Bissau and victims of a fire in Hong Kong.

Speaking before departing Lebanon, the pope said he carried with him the “pain and the thirst for truth and justice” voiced by many families. Attendees described his presence as moral support that amplifies calls for accountability and renews pressure on Lebanese authorities to act. For relatives who lost children, spouses and parents in the blast, the visit offered a rare public affirmation of their demands: that those responsible be identified and held to account, and that the judiciary move forward unimpeded by political influence.