Beirut — Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday with the hope of being a “messenger of peace” as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts, just days after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut.

Standing below a message that read “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” at the presidential palace in Baabda, Leo urged people to remain in Lebanon amid an “exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere” due to “uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats.”

“We must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable,” he said in his address to the country’s authorities and civil society.

Peace knows “no fear in the face of apparent defeat” and is not “daunted by disappointment,” Leo said. “It takes tenacity to build peace. It takes perseverance to protect and nurture life.”

Leo’s visit will offer support to Lebanon’s sizeable Christian minority, which has ancient roots in the country. The pontiff is due to meet political leaders and young people, take part in an inter-religious gathering and celebrate mass on the Beirut waterfront as part of the second leg of his first foreign trip since his election in May.

Large crowds, some holding Lebanese and Vatican flags, lined the streets to welcome the first American pontiff to the presidential palace. More spectators gathered inside palace grounds in the hopes of spotting the pope, donning plastic raincoats under a gray sky.

Leo’s calls for dialogue and unity come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and days after the Israeli strike last week on southern Beirut.

The strike, which targeted Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, killed five people and injured 28, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.