Lebanon has asked the Holy See to help safeguard the Christian presence in the country’s south as renewed fighting at the Israeli border and beyond forces families from their homes and deepens a growing humanitarian crisis.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi made the appeal during a phone call Tuesday with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, according to the Holy See Press Office. The conversation was confirmed by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
Southern Lebanon, particularly villages along the frontier with Israel, has endured repeated bombardments and evacuation orders since the escalation of violence in the region. Christian communities — many of them centuries old — have been among those caught in the upheaval.
Christians in Lebanon
Lebanon operates under a confessional power-sharing model, which distributes leadership roles among religious communities. By constitutional convention, the president is a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.
Because of this arrangement, the presence of Christian communities is tied directly to Lebanon’s political balance and its reputation as one of the region’s most religiously plural societies.
Raggi said the two diplomats exchanged views on “the difficult situation facing the border villages in the south.” He asked the Holy See to intervene diplomatically “to help preserve the Christian presence in those villages,” noting that their residents have long supported the Lebanese state and its military institutions.
The concern is not merely demographic. In Lebanon, Christian villages have historically served as places where religious coexistence is woven into daily life. Their disappearance would mark a cultural and spiritual loss for the entire region.
Archbishop Gallagher, who leads the Vatican’s diplomatic engagement with governments worldwide, reportedly assured the Lebanese minister that the Holy See is maintaining contacts aimed at easing tensions and preventing the displacement of civilians.
“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,” Raggi said the archbishop told him. Archbishop Gallagher also conveyed prayers from Pope Leo XIV for the people of Lebanon during this fragile moment.
Violence has already claimed hundred of lives and displacements approach 1 million. On Monday, a Maronite priest, Pierre El-Rahi, was killed in the village of Qlayaa while helping parishioners whose home had been struck by a tank shell.
Responding to the tragedy, Pope Leo prayed for the priest and for “all innocents, including many children, and for those assisting them,” urging an end to the hostilities.
The crisis touches a sensitive nerve in Lebanon, which still hosts the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Yet decades of conflict, economic collapse, and emigration have steadily reduced its numbers. The issue was central during Pope Leo’s first apostolic journey abroad in December 2025, when he visited Lebanon and Türkiye. Speaking in Lebanon, he lamented the displacement of Christian families and encouraged believers to remain witnesses of hope in a fractured region.
Meanwhile, from Iran
Seyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad Ahmadabadi, a figure within Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, wrote a public letter to Pope Leo XIV on March 5, calling for peace and respect for international law as fighting continues between Iran, Israel, and the United States.
In the letter, the ayatollah framed his appeal in moral and theological terms, saying peace and justice are central to all monotheistic religions. He condemned attacks that he says have killed civilians and damaged medical and research facilities, calling such actions violations of international norms.
Damad asked the Pope to use his influence with political leaders — particularly in Washington — to encourage restraint and prevent further bloodshed.
A respected scholar trained in both traditional Islamic seminaries and Western academia, Damad is often described as a relatively moderate voice within Iran’s religious establishment. In the past, he has criticized aspects of Iran’s political system and argued that Islamic law can be compatible with international human rights principles.
The letter also reflects a long, though often quiet, relationship between the Vatican and Shia religious authorities. Dialogue between scholars and religious leaders from Rome and Tehran has continued for years. That relationship gained global attention in 2021, when Pope Francis met Ali al-Sistani in Iraq — the first meeting between a pope and one of Shia Islam’s most influential leaders.
Whether Damad’s appeal will have a concrete diplomatic effect remains uncertain. Yet his message underscores how religious leaders continue to seek moral avenues for peace as the region faces the risk of a wider war.
What can be done?
Both appeals call to mind both the strength and the limits of the Vatican's massive diplomatic network. The Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with 184 nations, leaving only 12 that do not have official ties (including, for example, North Korea).
Historically and in current conflicts, the Holy See is recognized as a powerful player in the diplomatic sphere. Yet, it must also be recognized that diplomatic action is sometimes ignored by world leaders. In that context, the appeals to the Vatican and to Pope Leo himself are poignant: showing both the respect the Holy See has on the international stage while at the same time recognizing that the forces of war cannot always be swayed.
