"
Lebanon is not alone,
" said Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Friday September 4 in Beirut, on the occasion of a day of prayer decreed by the Pope for this multi-faith country, a months after the deadly explosion at the port of the capital.
Read also: Beirut: questions on the independence of the judges investigating the port explosion
This message comes two days after the Pope's call to believers around the world to “a universal day of prayer and fasting for Lebanon” on Friday.
The country faces "extreme danger" and cannot be "abandoned to its loneliness," Pope Francis said on Wednesday.
“
The Holy See attaches great importance to Lebanon.
Lebanon is not alone
”, declared Cardinal Parolin after a meeting this morning with Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
"
Lebanon must preserve its components
" which make "
the identity
" of the country, he added in allusion to the religious mixing in this multicommunity country.
Vatican number two then toured the port of Beirut, the epicenter of the tragic August 4 explosion that devastated entire swathes of the capital, killing 191 and injuring more than 6,500.
He also visited schools and hospitals located in the affected neighborhoods, before going to the headquarters of the Maronite Church to meet the patriarchs of the various Catholic communities in the country.
"
I am here to express (...) the solidarity of the Holy Father with the Lebanese people affected by this terrible explosion,
" he declared during a press conference.
"
Do not be afraid
", he launched to the Lebanese, and Christians in particular.
The pope's right-hand man arrived in Beirut on Thursday where he met several Christian and Muslim religious leaders before celebrating an outdoor mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, north of Beirut.
