Pope Leo XIV Joins Surprise Video Call with 13 Priests in Southern Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV joined a video call from Rome with 13 priests from southern Lebanon on Wednesday. He told the priests they were in his prayers and that he hoped peace would soon prevail along the border with Israel. The priests came from villages including Rmeich, Ain Ebel, Debel, and Marjayoun.

They had joined an online meeting with Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the Vatican’s ambassador to Lebanon, when Borgia informed them that the pope wished to speak.

Najib al-Amil, the parish priest of Rmeich, said the pope gave the group peace and blessings during the roughly one-minute call in French. Al-Amil added that the pope urged the priests to remain in their hometowns. “Pray with me so that peace prevails. God willing, peace is near,” al-Amil quoted the pope as saying. The Vatican did not release further details of the audience.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, though both sides have continued attacks. Christian villages along the border have experienced less destruction than other parts of southern Lebanon. A few days before the call, the Israeli military demolished a Catholic convent in the village of Yaroun while targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

The military stated it did not realize the building was a convent and released photographs of an adjacent structure. Images from the village of Debel showed an Israeli soldier damaging a statue of Jesus on the cross, prompting condemnation from local residents.

Pope Leo XIV visited Lebanon in November on his first trip abroad since his election in May 2025.