BEIRUT – Pope Leo XIV closed his visit to Lebanon urging citizens not to be discouraged by the troubles they face, but to put political and religious differences a side and join forces in building a better future.

Speaking in an open-air Mass Dec. 2 at Beirut’s Waterfront Stadium, the pope said, “Everyone must do their part, and we must unite our efforts so that this land can return to its former glory.”

“Disarming our hearts is the only way to do this. Let us cast off the armor of our ethnic and political divisions, open our religious confessions to mutual encounter and reawaken in our hearts the dream of a united Lebanon,” he said.

Pope Leo spoke on the final day of his visit to Beirut, closing a broader Nov. 27-Dec. 2 visit to Turkey and Lebanon.

Prior to Mass, he visited the staff and patients of the De La Croix hospital in Jal Ed Dib, Beirut, and paid a visit to the site of the Beirut Port Explosion in 2020, which left nearly 300 people dead, thousands wounded, and countless homeless, with damage to infrastructure that will take years to repair.

Lebanon has also struggled for years, with a severe economic crisis and political troubles that have paralyzed the country, at times leaving it without leadership for years.

In his homily Tuesday, Pope Leo noted that “evil” has often obscured the beauty of Lebanon, and that this beauty is often “overshadowed by poverty and suffering, the wounds that have marked your history.”

Leo recalled his visit to the site of the Port Explosion prior to Mass, and lamented “the fragile and often unstable political context, the dramatic economic crisis that weighs heavily upon you and the violence and conflicts that have reawakened ancient fears.”

Faced with this scenario, fostering an attitude of gratitude and hope can be difficult, giving way to disillusionment, uncertainty and confusion.

In this context, the pope said God is inviting Lebanese to “find the small shining lights in the heart of the night” and to foster a sense of gratitude to God and a commitment to the country.”

The Gospels, he said, show that God always “reveals his greatness specifically to the little ones and to the humble, to those who do not attract attention and seemingly count for little or nothing and have no voice.”

Pointing to the Book of Isaiah, he said that in scripture, Isaiah says that the kingdom God wishes to build is “a shoot, a small branch sprouting from a trunk.”

“It is a small sign of hope that promises rebirth when everything else seems to be dying,” Leo said, saying God “can only be recognized by the little ones, by those who humbly know how to recognize the hidden details and traces of God in a seemingly lost story.”

This ought to serve as a reminder for Lebanon and an invitation to adopt a perspective that recognizes hope even in the midst of a painful situation, he said.

Pope Leo praised the work of Christians in Lebanon in the fields of education and various social and charitable initiatives, noting that priests, religious and laypeople alike) devote themselves to their mission amid many difficulties.

He urged the Lebanese people to give thanks to God for his presence and assistance, because especially in moments of difficulty, “you are with us and do not let us falter.”

“At the same time, this gratitude must not remain an introspective and illusory consolation,” he said, saying it must lead “to a transformation of the heart, a conversion of life and a realization that God has made us precisely to live in the light of faith, the promise of hope and the joy of charity.”

Christians in Lebanon, the pope said, are called to cultivate hope and gratitude, “to not be discouraged, to not give in to the logic of violence and the idolatry of money, and to not resign ourselves in the face of the spreading evil.”

He closed his homily urging Lebanon to “stand up! Be a home of justice and fraternity! Be a prophetic sign of peace for the whole of the Levant!”

“While I carry your sufferings and hopes in my heart, I pray that this land of the Levant may always be illuminated by faith in Jesus Christ, the sun of justice,” he said, saying he is also praying that “through the grace of Christ, Lebanon will persevere in that hope that does not disappoint.”

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen