Pope Leo is preparing to visit Lebanon later this year, the country’s most senior Catholic cleric announced on Wednesday, in what would mark the new pontiff’s first trip abroad since taking office.

Cardinal Bechara Rai, head of the 3.5-million-strong Maronite Catholic Church, told al-Arabiya television that the pope would travel to Lebanon “by December”, though he did not specify a date and said only that preparations were under way.

A Lebanese official familiar with the matter confirmed discussions were ongoing about a visit towards the end of the year, though no date had been finalised.

Leo, the first American pope, was elected on 8th May to succeed the late Pope Francis, who had intended to visit Lebanon but was unable to do so due to health concerns.

Lebanon is home to more than two million Catholics, according to Vatican figures.

While the Vatican did not immediately respond to Cardinal Rai’s comments, a Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a trip was being planned and suggested it might form part of a wider tour also including Turkey.

Foreign travel has become a hallmark of the modern papacy, serving as a means of engaging local Catholic communities, advancing diplomacy and spreading the faith.

Popes frequently attract vast crowds on such visits. During his 12-year papacy, Francis undertook 47 overseas journeys to 68 countries, often choosing destinations on the margins of global attention to highlight the struggles of what he called the “peripheries” of the world.

Pope Leo is already expected to travel to Turkey in late November for events marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, held in what is now Iznik.

In a message to Lebanon earlier this month, Leo recalled the fifth anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion, which killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. “Beloved and suffering Lebanon remains at the centre of our prayers,” the pope said.

American popstar, Madonna had earlier called on the Pontiff to visit Gaza and "shine his light" on the children there. 

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