The Pope "will come in support of Christians, so that they remain united" and will bring a "message of peace in the Middle East," said the patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians Gregory Laham II who leads the second largest religious community in the region, with about 700,000 faithful distributed between Egypt, Israel, PalestinianTerritories, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria.
To invite the Pope was, last November, the Sunni prime minister of the country of the Cedars, Najib Mikati, during a visit to the Vatican.
For Benedict's second visit to the Middle East, after that of 2009 in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Mikati leads a coalition that focuses on support of the Shiite Hezbollah.
To invite the Pope was, last November, the Sunni prime minister of the country of the Cedars, Najib Mikati, during a visit to the Vatican.
For Benedict's second visit to the Middle East, after that of 2009 in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Mikati leads a coalition that focuses on support of the Shiite Hezbollah.