Pope Leo XIV has prayed at the site of the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion and offered words of consolation to the Lebanese people on the final day of his first overseas trip.

Relatives of some of the 218 people killed in the blast five years ago held up photographs of loved ones as Pope Leo arrived on Tuesday at the scorched site. They then stood side by side as he spoke to each one and looked at the images.

The emotional encounter took place beside the shell of the last grain silo standing at the site destroyed by the August 4 blast, and amid piles of burned cars left charred in its wake.

The explosion caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage when hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse.

Five years on, families are still seeking justice. No official has b

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