Lebanon’s foreign minister asks the Holy See to aid efforts to preserve Christian communities in war-affected southern Lebanon.
Newsroom (11/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) As renewed fighting grips southern Lebanon, the government has turned to the Holy See for help in safeguarding one of the region’s most vulnerable populations — the Christian communities living along the volatile border with Israel.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Youssef Raggi, made a direct appeal to the Vatican, urging it to use its moral and diplomatic influence to preserve the Christian presence in the south, where residents face relentless bombardments, displacement, and mounting humanitarian hardships.
According to the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, Mr. Raggi spoke by phone on Tuesday with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The conversation, later described in a detailed post by Mr. Raggi on X, focused on “the latest developments in Lebanon and on the difficult situation facing the border villages in the south.”
“I asked the Holy See to intervene and mediate to help preserve the Christian presence in those villages, whose residents have always supported the Lebanese state and its official military institutions, and have never departed from this commitment,” the Foreign Minister wrote.
In response, Archbishop Gallagher reaffirmed the Vatican’s dedication to calming regional tensions. He reportedly assured Mr. Raggi that “the Holy See is making all the necessary diplomatic contacts to halt the escalation in Lebanon and to prevent the displacement of citizens from their lands.”
The Archbishop also conveyed the prayers and concern of Pope Leo XIV for the people of Lebanon, expressing solidarity with those suffering amid ongoing hostilities.
Tragedy struck earlier this week when Fr. Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite Catholic priest, was killed in Qlayaa while aiding parishioners whose home had been hit by a tank round. The Pope offered prayers for the slain priest, “for all innocents, including many children, and for those assisting them,” and called for an immediate end to the violence.
Pope Leo XIV’s sympathy for Lebanon runs deep. His first Apostolic Journey abroad, undertaken in December 2025, included visits to Lebanon and Türkiye, where he emphasized Lebanon’s crucial role as a home for the largest Christian community in the Middle East. During that trip, he lamented the steady displacement of Christians caused by conflict and instability, urging believers to stand firm in their mission to help build what he called a “civilization of love and peace.”
As the current crisis deepens, diplomatic observers in Beirut see Lebanon’s outreach to the Vatican as an appeal not only for humanitarian assistance but also for moral advocacy at the global level. For many Lebanese Christians — whose roots stretch back to the earliest centuries of the faith — the Holy See remains both a spiritual anchor and a potential bridge to stability in a land where faith and identity are inseparable from survival.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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