During his meeting with the young people in the esplanade of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerké, Pope Leo XIV delivered a message centered on hope, reconciliation, and commitment to peace. The event was part of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon.
After being received by the Maronite Patriarch and listening to several testimonies, the Holy Father highlighted the value of the courage shown by the young people amid war, poverty, and instability. He pointed out that Lebanon, wounded by decades of conflicts, can “flourish like the cedar” if the new generations commit to justice, unity, and the common good.
The Pontiff emphasized that true peace is born from Christ and not from partisan interests, recalling the words of Saint John Paul II: “There is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness”. He invited the young people to build solid relationships based on fidelity, generosity, and selfless service.
He also exhorted them to be inspired by the saints of Lebanon—such as Saint Charbel, Saint Rafqa, and Blessed Yakub El-Haddad—and to cultivate an interior life sustained by prayer, Scripture, and the Eucharist. The Pope encouraged looking to Mary, “Mother of God and our Mother”, as a guide on the path of hope.
The meeting concluded with the young people's promise of peace, the papal blessing, and a final song. The Holy Father reaffirmed that the Church accompanies Lebanese youth and encouraged them to make the country flourish “with the strength of the Gospel and the light of hope”.
We leave the complete message from Leo XIV:
Assalamu alaikum! (peace be with you)
Dear young people of Lebanon, assalamu alaikum!
This is the greeting of the Risen Jesus (cf. Jn 20:19) and it sustains the joy of our meeting: the enthusiasm we feel in our hearts expresses God's loving closeness, who gathers us as brothers and sisters to share faith in Him and communion among us.
I thank you all for the warmth with which you have welcomed me, as well as Your Beatitude for the cordial words of welcome. In a special way, I greet the young people from Syria and Iraq, and the Lebanese who have come to the homeland from various countries. We are gathered here to listen to one another and to ask the Lord to inspire our future decisions. In this regard, the testimonies that Anthony and Maria, Elie and Joelle have shared with us truly open our hearts and minds.
Their stories speak of courage in suffering. They speak of hope in disillusionment, of inner peace amid war. They are like bright stars in a dark night, in which we already glimpse the glow of dawn. In all these contrasts, many among us can recognize their own experiences, both good and bad. The history of Lebanon is woven with glorious pages, but it is also marked by deep wounds that take time to heal. These wounds have causes that go beyond national borders and intertwine with very complex social and political dynamics. Dearest young people, perhaps you lament having inherited a world torn by wars and disfigured by social injustices. However, there is hope, and there is hope within you! You have a gift that so often seems to escape us adults. You have hope! And you have time. You have more time to dream, organize, and accomplish good. You are the present and, in your hands, the future is already being built. And you have the enthusiasm to change the course of history! True resistance to evil is not evil, but love, capable of healing one's own wounds while healing those of others.
The dedication of Anthony and Maria toward those in need, the perseverance of Elie, and the generosity of Joelle are prophecies of a new future, which must be announced with reconciliation and mutual help. Thus the word of Jesus is fulfilled: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" and "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God" (Mt 5:5.9). Dear young people, live in the light of the Gospel, and you will be blessed in the eyes of the Lord.
Your homeland, Lebanon, will flourish beautiful and vigorous like the cedar, a symbol of the unity and fruitfulness of the people. You know well that the strength of the cedar lies in the roots, which normally have the same dimensions as the branches. The number and strength of the branches correspond to the number and strength of the roots. In the same way, the great good that we see today in Lebanese society is the result of the humble, hidden, and honest work of so many workers for good, of so many good roots that do not want to grow only one branch of the Lebanese cedar, but the whole tree, in all its beauty. Drink from the good roots of the commitment of those who serve society and do not “serve themselves” from it for their own interests. With generous commitment to justice, project together a future of peace and development. Be the sap of hope that the country awaits!
In this regard, your questions allow us to trace a certainly demanding path, but precisely for that reason, an exciting one.
You have asked me where to find the firm point to persevere in the commitment to peace. Dearest ones, this firm point cannot be an idea, a contract, or a moral principle. The true principle of new life is the hope that comes from on high: it is Christ! Jesus died and rose for the salvation of all. He, the Living One, is the foundation of our confidence; He is the witness of the mercy that redeems the world from all evil. As Saint Augustine recalls, echoing the Apostle Paul, "in Him is our peace, and from Him comes our peace" (Commentary on the Gospel of John, LXXVII, 3). Peace is not authentic if it is only the fruit of partisan interests, but it is truly sincere when I do to the other what I would want the other to do to me (cf. Mt 7:12). With inspired spirit, Saint John Paul II said that "there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness" (Message for the XXXV World Day of Peace, January 1, 2002). It is exactly so: from forgiveness comes justice, which is the foundation of peace.
Your second question can then find an answer precisely in this dynamic. It is true, we live in times in which personal relationships seem fragile and are consumed as if they were objects. Even among the youngest, sometimes, trust in the neighbor is countered by individual interest, and dedication to the other is preferred over one's own benefit. These attitudes make even the most beautiful words like friendship and love superficial, which are often confused with a feeling of selfish satisfaction. If at the center of a friendship or love relationship is our "I," this relationship cannot be fruitful. In the same way, one does not truly love if one loves with limits, while a feeling lasts: a love with an expiration date is a decadent love. On the contrary, friendship is true when it says “you” before “I”. This respectful and welcoming gaze toward the other allows us to build a larger “we”, open to all society, to all humanity. And love is authentic and can last forever only when it reflects the eternal splendor of God, God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8). Solid and fruitful relationships are built together on mutual trust, on this “forever”, which beats in every vocation to family life and religious consecration.
Dearest young people, what more than anything else expresses the presence of God in the world? Love, charity! Charity speaks a universal language, because it speaks to every human heart. It is not an ideal, but a story revealed in the life of Jesus and the saints, who are our companions in the trials of life. Look in particular at so many young people who, like you, have not let themselves be discouraged by injustices and bad examples received, even in the Church, but have tried to trace new paths, in search of the Kingdom of God and His justice. With the strength they receive from Christ, build a better world than the one you have found! You, young people, are more direct in weaving relationships with others, even with those who are different by cultural or religious tradition. True renewal, which a young heart desires, begins with everyday gestures: with the welcome of the neighbor and the distant, with the hand extended to the friend and the refugee, with the difficult but necessary forgiveness of the enemy.
Let us look at how many wonderful examples the saints have left us. Let us think of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, two young people who have been canonized in this Holy Year of the Jubilee. Let us look at the many Lebanese saints. What singular beauty is manifested in the life of Saint Rafqa, who with strength and meekness endured the pain of illness for years! How many gestures of compassion Blessed Yakub El-Haddad performed, helping the most abandoned and forgotten people.
What powerful light comes from the penumbra in which Saint Charbel decided to withdraw, who has become one of the symbols of Lebanon in the world! His eyes are always represented closed, as if to contain a mystery infinitely greater. Through the eyes of Saint Charbel, closed to see God better, we continue to perceive God's light more clearly. It is beautiful the song dedicated to him: “Oh you who sleep and your eyes are light for ours, on your eyelids a grain of incense has flourished”. Dear young people, may divine light also shine on your eyes and the incense of prayer flourish. In a world of distractions and vanities, have time each day to close your eyes and look only at God. He, if sometimes He seems silent or absent, reveals Himself to those who seek Him in silence. While you strive to do good, I ask you to be contemplative like Saint Charbel: praying, reading the Holy Scripture, participating in Holy Mass, and remaining in adoration. Pope Benedict XVI said to Christians in the Middle East: "I invite you to continually cultivate true friendship with Jesus through the power of prayer" (Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 63).
My dear friends, among all the saints and holy women shines the All-Holy, Mary, Mother of God and our Mother. Many young people carry the rosary always with them: in the pocket, on the wrist, or around the neck. How beautiful it is to look at Jesus with the eyes of Mary's heart! Also from this place where we are at this moment, how sweet it is to raise our gaze to Our Lady of Lebanon, with hope and trust!
Dear young people, allow me finally to entrust to you the simple and beautiful prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is offense, let me sow pardon; where there is discord, let me sow union; where there is doubt, let me sow faith; where there is error, let me sow truth; where there is despair, let me sow hope; where there is sadness, let me sow joy; where there is darkness, let me sow light."
May this prayer keep alive in you the joy of the Gospel, Christian enthusiasm. “Enthusiasm” means “having God in the soul”: when the Lord dwells in us, the hope He gives us becomes fruitful for the world. See, hope is a poor virtue, because it presents itself with empty hands: they are free hands to open doors that seem closed by fatigue, pain, and disillusionment.
The Lord will always be with you, and have the certainty of the support of the whole Church in the decisive challenges of your life and in the history of your beloved country. I commend you to the protection of the Mother of God and Our Lady, who from the heights of this mountain looks toward this new flourishing. Lebanese youth, grow vigorous like cedars and make the world flourish with hope!