Pope Leo surprises priests in southern Lebanon with message of peace

NewsWorldEuropePope Leo surprises priests in southern Lebanon with message of peaceThe holy men were visibly moved by the unexpected encounterBassem Mroue Wednesday 06 May 2026 21:46 BSTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":false,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"CF1:2971475To1","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-leo-message-priests-lebanon-israel-b2971851.html","title":"Pope Leo surprises priests in southern Lebanon with message of peace"}}ClosePope Leo calls for 'weapons to fall silent' in Ukraine and commends ceasefire in LebanonOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}Pope Leo XIV delivered a surprise message of peace and hope to 13 priests from southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border, by unexp...