(RVA News): As renewed conflict continues to escalate in southern Lebanon, the country’s foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, appealed to the Holy See for diplomatic support to preserve the Christian presence in border villages near Israel, Vatican News reported on March 11.
Since the outbreak of fresh hostilities in the Middle East on February 28, Christians in southern Lebanon have faced relentless bombardments and evacuation orders, contributing to a mounting humanitarian crisis.
Raggi spoke by phone on March 10 with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, a conversation confirmed by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
According to Vatican News, the two discussed the latest developments in Lebanon and the difficult situation facing the border villages in the south.
In a post on X [formerly Twitter], Raggi said he had asked the Holy See to intervene and mediate to help preserve the Christian presence in those villages, whose residents have historically supported the Lebanese state and its official institutions.
Archbishop Gallagher assured him that the Holy See is making all necessary diplomatic contacts to halt the escalation and prevent the displacement of citizens. Vatican News reported that the archbishop also conveyed the prayers of Pope Leo XIV for the people of Lebanon.
The appeal to the Vatican came amid deepening fears that ongoing violence could force long‑standing Christian communities to abandon their ancestral homes along the southern border, a region historically significant as part of Lebanon’s religious and cultural mosaic.
Pope Leo made his first apostolic journey abroad to Lebanon and Türkiye in November-December 2025. During the visit, he lamented the displacement of Christians in Lebanon, which hosts the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and described their presence as essential to building a “civilisation of love and peace.”
