History’s first American pope is on his maiden papal voyage, and it has taken him to the heart of Christianity: First to Turkey to commemorate a founding profession of the Christian faith and now to Lebanon to encourage an ancient Christian community in a country that is unique in the Arab world for its religious tolerance. Leo’s remarks underscored the vital importance of Lebanon and its Christian community to the Catholic Church, a place that St. John Paul II famously said was more than just a country, but a message of freedom to the rest of the world. Today, Christians make up around a third of Lebanon’s 5 million people, giving the small nation on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East.
Published at: 2025-12-01 22:12:32
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