Pope Benedict Papal Trip To Lebanon DAY 1 ( LINKS )

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I did a pre flight Pope Benedict post a few hours ago here at Pope Benedict Goes To Lebanon Day 1 - Pre Flight Pics , Links, and Resources that has some article and resources.


It might be helpful to get a visual view of the trip and for that I thank the people who put this together on this page


Places on the Holy Father's Lebanon program other than Beirut are Harissa, Baabda, Bzommar, Bkerké, and Charfet. (All are located within 10-30 miles from Beirut). Harissa is a mountain location a few miles inland from the capital, looking down on the Mediterranean. It is the site of the Apostolic Nunciature, where the Pope will be staying, as well as two major churches.Other than Beirut and Harissa, the other place names are not indicated on the map because they are not population centers. Baabda is east of Beirut and south of Harissa, while Bzommar, Bkerke and Charfet are all slightly northwest of Harissa (nearer the sea. Right photo shows the location of St Paul's Cathedral and the Shrine to our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa



Melkite Greek Catholic Basilica of St. Paul, where, on the afternoon of his arrival, the Holy Father will sign his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation that formally summarizes the Special Synodal Assembly on the Middle East held in October 2010

The Pope has arrived in Lebanon. I got a couple of hours of sleep and got up to watch it. He looks rested and in good shape to my eye. His remarks at the airport I think set the right tone and were well received from the crowd from what I could tell. Full text is here Pope in Lebanon: Arrival speech (full text) . I liked this part:
I cannot forget the sad and painful events which have affected your beautiful country along the years. The successful way the Lebanese all live together surely demonstrates to the whole Middle East and to the rest of the world that, within a nation, there can exist cooperation between the various churches, all members of the one Catholic Church in a fraternal spirit of communion with other Christians, and at the same time coexistence and respectful dialogue between Christians and their brethren of other religions. Like me, you know that this equilibrium, which is presented everywhere as an example, is extremely delicate. Sometimes it seems about to snap like a bow which is overstretched or submitted to pressures which are too often partisan, even selfish, contrary and extraneous to Lebanese harmony and gentleness. This is where real moderation and great wisdom are tested. And reason must overcome one-sided passion in order to promote the greater good of all. Did not the great King Solomon, who knew Hiram, King of Tyre, consider that wisdom was the supreme virtue? This is why he pleaded to God for it insistently, and God gave him a wise and intelligent heart (1 Kg 3:9-12).

As per custom the Pope does sort of a Press Conference type thing on the plane. The English translation of that is available here.

The next event today is Visit to St. Paul's Basilica in Harissa and the signing of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation . I will be updating with pics , more news stories and text of speeches as the day develops.