Pope Francis, who has promised to visit Lebanon if fractious politicians agree on a new government, said on Sunday he would meet its Christian leaders to discuss the country's worst crisis since its civil war that ended in 1990.
He told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square for his weekly blessing that the meeting in the Vatican on Tuesday would be a "day of reflection on the worrying situation in the country".
Lebanon is still reeling from a huge chemical explosion at the Beirut port last year that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, further weakening an economy already facing meltdown.