Currents News Staff
Pope Francis met with the President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun. It was a much-anticipated visit, as the pontiff has expressed his desire to travel to the country.
The two discussed the state of diplomacy between their two countries. This year, they will celebrate 75 years since they established diplomatic relations. They also addressed the problems currently facing Lebanon.
Among them, the migration crisis, for which they are appealing to the international community for support, and the threat of violence among different religious communities in the country. Pope Francis and President Aoun spoke of the need to offer reparations to the victims of the 2020 Beirut explosion and their families.
The Lebanese President gave the Holy Father a reproduction of a book of Psalms from the year 1600 and a collection of honeys from the presidential garden that Pope Francis greatly appreciated.
“To sweeten life!”
In return, Pope Francis gave the President the main texts of his pontificate, a bronze statue in which an angel embraces the planet’s two hemispheres, and his message of Peace for 2022.
“I signed it for you today,” Pope Francis said.
At the end of their half-hour meeting, the President of Lebanon met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.