Pope Francis

Honoring a Historic Visit: Lebanon Commemorates Pope Leo XIV with a Stamp

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon, scheduled for November 30 to December 2, 2025, the Ministry of Telecommunications has confirmed to This is Beirut that the country will issue a special stamp commemorating the pontifical visit. According to Ministry sources, this official release has been entrusted to LibanPost, which will oversee its ...

UK King to Be First to Pray With Pope in Five Centuries

King Charles III leaves for a state visit to the Vatican Wednesday, where he will meet Pope Leo XIV and make history as the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with the pontiff since the schism between the churches 500 years ago. The visit comes at a delicate time for the British king following new revelations about his brother, ...

Pope Leo XIV’s Visit: Bookings Soar, Hotels Remain on Standby

With the historic visit of Pope Leo XIV, scheduled from November 30 to December 2, 2025, drawing near, Lebanon is experiencing a surge in travel bookings. Airlines report a strong rise in demand, while the hotel sector is still waiting to see tangible gains. The announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s first trip to the region has generated widespread ...

Canonization of Ignatius Maloyan at the Vatican in the Presence of President Aoun

President Joseph Aoun and First Lady Naamat Aoun attended the solemn Mass during which Blessed Bishop Ignatius Maloyan, of the Armenian Catholic Church, was proclaimed a saint on the altars of the Catholic Church. The ceremony, celebrated on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, was presided over by Pope Leo XIV in the ...

A Monastery Dedicated to Saint Charbel in Villiers-sur-Marne

A new Lebanese Maronite Order (LMO) monastery dedicated to Saint Charbel has opened in Villiers-sur-Marne, just 40 km from Paris, marking the first of its kind in France and the third in Europe, after Rome (Lateran) and Belgium (Abbaye du Bois Seigneur Isaac). The monastery is set to become a vibrant center of Christian spiritual life for the ...

Pope Leo XIV to Visit Lebanon in Late November, Local Media Reports

For weeks, speculation ran high about Pope Leo XIV’s possible visit to Lebanon, met with denials from the Apostolic Nuncio and silence from the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke. But the secrecy appears to be lifting. According to MTV Lebanon, the Vatican is set to officially confirm the papal visit, scheduled for November 30 to December 2. A ...

Pope Leo XIV in Lebanon at the End of November: What About the Visit’s Program?

The much-anticipated visit of Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon has reportedly been confirmed by senior church officials, according to the daily Nidaa al-Watan. Although no official announcement has yet been made by the Holy See, preparations—both spiritual and protocolary—are said to already be underway to welcome the head of the Catholic Church. The ...

Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati Canonized: Watchers of the Same Dawn

Two young men, Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) and Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925), are to be canonized together in Rome on Sunday, September 7, 2025. Both owe their “elevation to the glory of the altars” to two remarkable miracles officially recognized by the Church, too detailed to recount here. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were ...

'God's Influencer' to Become First Millennial Saint

An Italian teenager dubbed "God's Influencer" for his efforts to spread the Catholic faith online will become the first millennial saint Sunday at a canonization attended by thousands of pilgrims. Computer whiz Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 aged 15, will be raised to sainthood by Pope Leo XIV in a solemn ceremony in St Peter's Square ...

Leon XIV to Visit Lebanon 'by December,' Pending Official Confirmation

The announcement quickly sparked a media storm in both Lebanon and Italy: Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Lebanon “by December.” According to Patriarch Rai, the trip would mark the Pope’s first journey outside Italy since his election. “We are waiting for the Vatican to announce the exact date of the visit,” he told ...

Pope Leo Says Hopes to Visit Turkey in Months Ahead

Pope Leo XIV confirmed Thursday he hoped to visit Turkey in the coming months for a Christian religious commemoration, in what could be his first overseas trip as pontiff. "I hope to be able to meet you again in a few months to take part in the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea," Leo said at a meeting with ...

The Dual Peril Facing Eastern Christians

On June 22, a deadly bombing inside Damascus’s Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah during Mass claimed 25 lives and left around 50 injured. In response, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Youhanna X, rightly declared that the victims deserve to be honored as martyrs of the faith, just as those who perished in past tragedies in Lebanon, ...