A Lebanese priest holds Lebanon’s flag while kneeling next to Pope Francis making a statement about the situation in Lebanon in the Vatican on Sept. 2, 2020. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Pope Francis on Saturday lamented the “nation of Lebanon's unprecedented economic and social” crises.
The Pontiff’s speech came during his annual "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas blessing, delivered to a crowd at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, according to the Holy See’s news agency.
In November, the Catholic spiritual leader met with Premier Najib Mikati at the Vatican and said he would pray for Lebanon.
He also promised to “work diplomatically with countries so that they unite with Lebanon to help it rise again.”
Lebanon welcomed Christmas this year amid compounding crises, as inflation balloons for common goods and Mikati’s government remains paralyzed due to a political rift of Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation into the 2020 Beirut port explosion.