“I welcome the Pope’s visit to Lebanon,” Qassem said in a televised speech, adding that he “tasked members of our political council with visiting the Papal Embassy and presenting a letter from Hezbollah to the Pope, which will also be published in the media”.

After visiting Turkey, Leo is due to arrive in Lebanon tomorrow for a three-day trip that includes an open-air mass at Beirut’s waterfront that organisers expect to draw 120,000 people, as well as an interreligious meeting in the city centre.

“We welcome this visit at this pivotal moment, and we pray that the Holy Father will contribute to spreading peace in Lebanon, liberating it, ending the (Israeli) aggression, and standing by it and by the oppressed, as we have always known him to do,” Qassem said.

Lebanon is facing mounting pressures a year after a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel has repeatedly bombed the country despite the truce, claiming it aims to stop Hezbollah from rearming, and has kept troops at five border positions.

It has recently intensified its attacks, with many fearing a return to broader conflict.