{"id":17192,"date":"2025-12-02T17:54:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/?p=17192"},"modified":"2025-12-02T23:28:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T04:28:04","slug":"lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined such a scene: Pope Leo XIV traveling across the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been heavily impacted by Israeli bombardments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As in many other parts of the the country, banners that read \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers\u201d and \u201cLebanon wants peace\u201d hung along the road, while people amassed on the roadside to welcome the pope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his first address to Lebanese officials at the Presidential Palace after arriving in Beirut on 30 November, Pope Leo highlighted the resilience of the Lebanese people, saying the Lebanese \u201cdo not give up, but in the face of trials, always know how to rise again with courage.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sister Joumana Sassine said the pope\u2019s words resonated with her. She traveled from the Maronite St. Joseph Monastery in Jrabta, a major pilgrimage site where the tomb of St. Rafqa is housed, to the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa on 1 December to attend the meeting of Pope Leo with clergy, religious and lay pastoral workers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31-1600x2133.jpeg 1600w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-31.jpeg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pope Leo XIV gathers with clergy, religious and pastoral workers at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa on 1 December. (photo: Laure Delacloche)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe resist and persevere, but sometimes, even with hope, you need the encouragement that such a visit provides,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sister Joumana brought Jessica Nassif with her. Ms. Nassif, an 18-year-old novice at the monastery, was \u201cthankful and happy\u201d to see Pope Leo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am hoping to meet God through this encounter,\u201d Ms. Nassif said, adding that she hoped listening to Pope Leo\u2019s address would \u201cbring peace to the hearts, including my own.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Najwa and Robert Al Khoury, who serve in the Maronite archeparchy\u2019s marriage and family ministry, said they came to pray for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/magazine\/a-tentative-peace\/\">peace for Lebanon<\/a>, which would help families who have been forced to flee their homes or who are struggling due to the economic crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2,500 people at the gathering greeted Pope Leo with cheers and cries of \u201cViva il papa.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was an emotional moment, filled with tears and the feeling that the pope is here with us, is one of us,\u201d said the Rev. Dany Frem, who ministers at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Church in Beit Mery-Mansourieh and served on the organizing committee for the gathering in Harissa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Church leaders and pastoral workers from across Lebanon addressed the pope, sharing the challenges of working on issues pertaining to migration and detention in Lebanon, as well as in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/lebanese-church-leaders-fear-return-of-all-out-war\/\">areas affected by war<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs consecrated people, we are [the pope\u2019s] eyes and ears of the church on the ground in the parishes and the dioceses,\u201d said Syriac Catholic Bishop Isaac Jules Boutros, responsible for youth ministry in Beirut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pope Leo quoted St. John Paul II\u2019s 1984 Message to the Citizens of Lebanon: \u201cYou are the ones responsible for hope in today\u2019s Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Create, there where you live and work, a fraternal climate,\u201d Pope Leo said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Referring to the \u201ctenacity\u201d of Lebanon\u2019s clergy, religious and lay pastoral workers, the pope said \u201cit is in being with Mary at the foot of Jesus\u2019 cross that our prayer, that invisible bridge which unites hearts, gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11-1600x1200.jpeg 1600w, https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown-11.jpeg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Najwa and Robert Al Khoury work in marriage and family ministry for the Maronite Church in Beirut. (photo: Laure Delacloche)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s visit in 2012, Lebanon has received up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees; endured the COVID-19 pandemic and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/magazine\/sinking-deeper\/\">one of the world\u2019s worst economic crises<\/a>; tried to recover from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/remembering-beiruts-port-disaster\/\">2020 Beirut Port blast<\/a>&nbsp;that killed more than 200 people and injured 6,000; and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/lebanese-church-leaders-fear-return-of-all-out-war\/\">war<\/a>. According to a 2024 report by the World Bank, 73 percent of Lebanese were living in poverty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pope Leo also emphasized the responsibility that the church has for young people. He said it was important to include them in church structures, \u201cappreciating their fresh contributions and providing them with opportunities.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Noting that the \u201cchurch in Lebanon has always cultivated education,\u201d Pope Leo encouraged church workers to \u201ccontinue this praiseworthy work.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet your choices, prompted by the most generous charity, serve to meet the needs, above all, of those who cannot help themselves and those found in extreme situations,\u201d he said.&nbsp;\u201cIn this way, the formation of the mind will always be united to the education of the heart. Let us remember that our first school is the cross and that our one teacher is Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, CNEWA president, traveled to Lebanon for the papal visit. He attended the gathering in Harissa, along with Adriana Bara, national director of CNEWA in Canada, and Michel Constantin, director of CNEWA\u2019s regional office for Lebanon, Egypt and Syria.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023, CNEWA has directed $1 million to Lebanon in emergency aid and reconstruction efforts, causing a shortage of funding available for \u201cthe poorest of the poor in schools,\u201d said Mr. Constantin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPoverty in Lebanon has reached unprecedented levels,\u201d&nbsp;he said.&nbsp;\u201cThe churches and schools in the South are on the brink of collapse.\u201d He called for support to ensure \u201cboth Christians and Muslims can access education.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the church in Lebanon is heavily engaged in provided much needed care in health and education, its pastoral mission is \u201cjust as essential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWe resist and persevere, but sometimes, even with hope, you need the encouragement that such a visit provides,\u201d one religious sister said of the pope\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70080,"featured_media":17193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3079,2315,69],"class_list":["post-17192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accompanying-local-churches","category-lebanon","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo | CNEWA Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CNEWA Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cnewacanada\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laure Delacloche\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cnewac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cnewac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laure Delacloche\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laure Delacloche\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/929839c5dd14a349dc51af681d8cf7ae\"},\"headline\":\"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":931,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Accompanying Local Churches\",\"Lebanon\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo | CNEWA Canada\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"width\":1800,\"height\":1350,\"caption\":\"Sister Joumana Sassine (right) and Jessica Nassif from the Maronite Monastery of St Joseph in Jrabta traveled to Harissa for the gathering with Pope Leo on 1 December. (photo: Laure Delacloche)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/\",\"name\":\"CNEWA Canada\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"CNEWA Canada\",\"alternateName\":\"Catholic Near East Welfare Association\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/CNEWA-brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/CNEWA-brand-logo.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"CNEWA Canada\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cnewa.org\\\/ca\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/cnewacanada\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/cnewac\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/cnewa1926\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/TheCNEWA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Laure Delacloche\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo | CNEWA Canada","description":"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo","og_description":"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0","og_site_name":"CNEWA Canada","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cnewacanada\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":1350,"url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laure Delacloche","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cnewac","twitter_site":"@cnewac","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laure Delacloche","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/"},"author":{"name":"Laure Delacloche","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/929839c5dd14a349dc51af681d8cf7ae"},"headline":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo","datePublished":"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/"},"wordCount":931,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg","articleSection":["Accompanying Local Churches","Lebanon","News"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/","url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/","name":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo | CNEWA Canada","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-12-02T22:54:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T04:28:04+00:00","description":"After 66 days of war with Israel last autumn, few in Lebanon could have imagined seeing Pope Leo XIV traveling across the suburbs of Beirut.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Unknown1.jpeg","width":1800,"height":1350,"caption":"Sister Joumana Sassine (right) and Jessica Nassif from the Maronite Monastery of St Joseph in Jrabta traveled to Harissa for the gathering with Pope Leo on 1 December. (photo: Laure Delacloche)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/lebanese-share-their-challenges-with-pope-leo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lebanese Share Their Challenges With Pope Leo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/","name":"CNEWA Canada","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#organization","name":"CNEWA Canada","alternateName":"Catholic Near East Welfare Association","url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CNEWA-brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CNEWA-brand-logo.png","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"CNEWA Canada"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cnewacanada\/","https:\/\/x.com\/cnewac","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cnewa1926\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/TheCNEWA"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Laure Delacloche"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70080"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17196,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17192\/revisions\/17196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}