BEIRUT — Pope Leo XIV is in Lebanon on his first visit to the Middle East since he was chosen as leader of the world's Catholics in May. He arrives at a pivotal time for the country, buffeted by conflict with Israel and a devastating economic crisis.

The pope arrived Sunday evening from Turkey, his first foreign destination , where he commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in present-day Iznik, the origin of a testament of faith still recited world-wide in churches today.

On Monday morning, well-wishers, many wearing rain-coats, lined the roads behind a metal railing under drizzly skies as his convoy made its way through the winding roads near Beirut to the mountain-top tomb of a 19th century hermit now recognized as St. Charbel Makhlouf. Some threw rose

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