The Father Christian Hallak, a Maronite priest from the diocese of Beirut who is studying at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarre Thanks to the partners, benefactors, and friends of the CARF Foundation, he is fully confident that Pope Leo XIV's visit to his country, after passing through Turkey, will fill his people with hope and optimism for the future.
His gaze conveys both nostalgia for returning to his homeland and the responsibility to continue on. forming to return one day to better serve his country. From Spain, he eagerly follows every news item about Pope Leo XIV's visit to Turkey and Lebanon from November 27 to December 2. «The Pope's visit will bring much hope.» he states with conviction.
In a bleak outlook for his country, the Pope's voice will be, according to him, a prophetic voice, which will remind the country of five essential things:
In Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV's apostolic visit is seen as a historic event. For Father Christian, the arrival of the Pontiff amid regional wars, economic crisis, and a still-open social wound is a light shining through the darkness: «The Lebanese, both Christians and Muslims, see your visit as a message of hope, peace, and blessing at a time of great difficulty.».
He adds something that he considers essential: «nothing happens by chance, but by God's providence, which has allowed the situation to be as it is at this moment in Lebanon's history.
Upon arrival, the Pope will be welcomed by the President Joseph Aoun, Catholic Maronite, which for Father Christian is proof of this community's historic participation in the country's political life.
Despite the crisis, Catholics continue to be active and fruitful. In Lebanon, they coexist six Catholic communities: Maronites, Latinos, Greek Catholics, Syriac Catholics, Chaldeans, and Armenian Catholics. They all maintain schools, universities, hospitals, and social service programs that sustain the country even when everything seems to be falling apart.
«The Christian presence,» says Father Christian, "remains alive, deeply rooted, and committed to preserving its mission in society.".
But beyond politics, the people are hoping for a gesture of closeness and comfort. Pope Leo XIV's visit will not only be a formal event, but a spiritual embrace for a nation that has been on the brink of disaster for too long.
Born and raised in the Maronite Church, Father Christian was ordained a priest on June 28, 2020, by Monsignor Boulous Abdel Sater. His career began at the Maronite Patriarchal Seminary in Ghazir, after completing his theological training at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. He then served in parishes, schools, and various pastoral settings, especially with children and young people, a field that remains his priority.
He currently resides in Spain thanks to the support of the CARF Foundation, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Fundamental Morality at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra. He does so with the desire to return to Lebanon with a more solid preparation: «What I study,» he explains, "will enrich my educational and pastoral mission with young people and children.".
When he talks about his church, Father Christian does so with filial tenderness. He belongs to the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, heir to the Syriac-Antiochian liturgy.
His identity has been forged in the harshness of the Lebanese mountains, where his monks and faithful endured centuries of isolation, wars, and persecution. That history shaped a very distinctive spiritual temperament: ascetic, contemplative, and rooted in hope, a trait he insists on emphasizing.
«The Maronite Church," he explains, "is distinguished by its strong emphasis on Encarnacion, for his deep love for the saints, especially St. Maron and St. Charbel, and for a spirituality of steadfastness and perseverance.» Its liturgy, which combines Syriac and Arabic, is rich in symbols and aesthetics that reflect centuries of faith lived in extreme circumstances.
Don Christian recalls the figure of Saint Maron, spiritual founder of the Maronites, whose life in the mountains, sustained by prayer and austerity, became a model of resistance and fidelity. «Saint Maron endured the hardships of the climate and isolation. He remained steadfast in the faith, and that steadfastness nourishes our identity Maronite.
Monastery of Saint Maron, cradle of millions of pilgrimages
Among the most eagerly awaited stops on the trip, the Pope will visit a rural suburb of Beirut north of Jbeil, where the Monastery of Saint Maron stands in Annaya, the birthplace of millions of pilgrimages every year.
Annaya is a landscape of green hills overlooking the coast, an environment that envelops visitors in an almost supernatural calm. Pope Leo will visit the Hermitage of Saint Charbel, a small sanctuary where the saint lived in austerity and where his incorrupt body now rests.
«Annaya,» describes Father Christian, "is a center of worldwide pilgrimage. Christians of all rites come here, but also Muslims who ask for her intercession with simple and sincere faith." In these mountains, religious diversity is not an obstacle, but a living testimony to a shared spirituality.
The miracles of Saint Charbel
Also, the Pope will descend to the The grotto where Saint Charbel is buried, the Christian monk proclaimed a saint by Paul VI, to whom more than 29,000 medically and spiritually documented miracles of healing are attributed, many of them with comparative reports before and after the healing.
«There is no saint in Lebanon whose devotion is as widespread as that of Saint Charbel Makhlouf. What is extraordinary about these events is not only their number, but also the fact that they are miracles performed on people of different religions. Many are inexplicable cures for cancer, neurological diseases, or paralysis. They are often accompanied by a profound spiritual renewal,» explains this Maronite priest.
Father Christian insists that the real miracle is not only physical: «This is not simply a healing of the body. The greatest miracle is love and forgiveness.". With every miracle, we remember that God is with us.
A wish for his people and a prayer for the Pope
At the end of the conversation, Father Christian opens his heart in a message that sums up what this visit means for him and for all Lebanese: «As a son of the Maronite Church, I trust that this visit will bring a new sense of comfort to our people. and I hope it will be a spiritual boost that reminds us that hope never disappoints.
He appreciates the Pope's closeness at such a delicate time and offers a prayer for the protection of the saints of Lebanon: Saint Maron, Saint Charbel, Saint Rafqa, Saint Naamatallah, and so many others who have illuminated the Lebanese land, that they may continue to protect the Holy Father in his mission and accompany every step of his future visit.
«May her intercession also protect our country, strengthen its people, and keep hope alive amid the challenges we face. With the grace of God and with the protection of our saints, we trust that a new era of peace, unity, and renewal will come to all of Lebanon.
In Don Christian's words, it is clear that this hope is not a theoretical idea or a vague desire: it is a certainty that emerges from the faith of his people, a faith that lives on in the mountains, in the monasteries, in the streets of Beirut, and in every Lebanese person who longs for comfort.
Marta Santínjournalist specializing in religion.
On Thursday, November 27, 2025, he will arrive in the capital Ankara in the morning.
He will arrive in Lebanon on November 30 and return to Rome on December 2, after a previous visit to Turkey between November 27 and 30.
The purpose of the trip will be to promote dialogue and unity among all Christians, and to foster interfaith dialogue in a complex part of the world with a rich history and marked by current tensions.
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