Holy Father,

I write to you, the custodian of the See of Peter, to tell you a story of faith and a homeland.

I write to you from the land of holiness, from Lebanon, from the land of Canaan, from the Antiochene Levant, where the Message was incarnated, and from where Paul and Peter set out to preach to the world; and from the Nile Valley, where the Family of the Incarnation took refuge, and where Mark sat preaching to an entire continent.

I write to you from Beirut, the city of interaction and light, which was shaken and partly destroyed by negligence and conspiracy, and whose people have not yet been given justice.

I write to you from the land of Jerusalem, the land of Melchizedek, the land of wine and leaven, the land of milk and honey, the land of fertility, fertility of the spirit before fertility of matter, where the Master whose Kingdom has no end was incarnated; the Sun of Justice, the source of Light, and the Redeemer of creation, this creation that insists on descending into the depths of hell at every historical turn.

I write to you from where the disciples were first called Christians, in Antioch, and where people witnessed massacres and displacement, so that it deserved to be called the land where every inch has a martyr.

Not far away, the first martyr in Christianity was stoned, and in every part of this region, the blood of martyrs was shed; therefore, my land is called the land of martyrs and saints.

In our country, Lebanon, which is dear to your heart, the pearl of the two Easts, which you visited upon your first departure from the Holy See, we have been living history, pain, and suffering for centuries. Our country is torn apart, begging for stability, security, and prosperity, but receiving only crumbs, while our people emigrate, voluntarily displacing themselves to all corners of the Earth.

Christians are emigrating, so we say, and their presence has noticeably declined. They compensate for this collapse in quantity by improving the quality of service to society composed of all their brothers in the homeland and humanity, shouldering a pivotal and decisive role in the life of their nations.

Migration is no longer limited to Christians alone but has affected all segments of society as a result of the decline witnessed by the country on all levels: security, political, economic, psychological, and human dignity.

Suspicion pervades our society and accompanies us in our daily lives, turning us into people deeply anxious about the future and destiny.

Your visit, Holy Father, carries for us high historical and symbolic meanings, whether in its form or its content.

You come to all the Lebanese to tell them: "You are all one in the eyes of the Holy See; do not be divided, join hands, and the burdens upon you will be lightened."

You are coming to a country torn by internal conflicts, exhausted by foreign interventions, weakened by overwhelming individual selfishness, and whose heart has been eroded by corruption.

You, Holy Father, are coming to a country whose resilient people have learned how to withstand calamities, how to adapt to transformations, and how to make the stagnation of helplessness a force for change. A people for whom creativity, innovation, courage, and boldness are essential characteristics.

You are coming to a country capable of creating prosperity under the weight of the daily killing it lives through, a tax for its solidarity with our people in Palestine, Syria, and Iraq.

You come to a country whose children live a unity of life despite their religious, ethnic, and political diversity, something that does not please those who hate it, so they stone it with conspiracy and throw it into the furnace of discord.

You are coming to a country considered a microcosm summarizing human civilization, which your predecessor called the "Message-Nation"; therefore, what applies to it applies to the whole world.

It is one of the smallest countries in the world in size, but its symbolic and practical effect is limitless.

Your coming to Lebanon, in the season of Advent, will pose a challenge to the Lebanese and say to them: "Unite, be of one heart and one mind, live a life of unified aspirations and destiny, and the future will be yours."

The Lebanese are fully aware of the importance of your visit being the first to Lebanon during your pontificate. Therefore, they will build upon this accordingly and will bear the responsibility of this visit.

The Lebanese, of all categories, view this visit as a sign of hope for a better future.

As for you, Holy Father, during your travels in Lebanon and through the blessings you will impart, you will give signals that the Lebanese must grasp.

The content of your message is: "Be like a bundle of sticks, unbreakable if bound together, but broken stick by stick if untied."

Your coming to Lebanon will have effects on the level of cohesion among the Lebanese and prevent cracks from infiltrating their solidarity and civil peace.

You have made all the Lebanese your parish.

Blessed are you, O peacemaker, for through the peace your visit will establish in the land of the Cedars, the endowment of the Lord, you will push the Lebanese to be the salt of the earth, sowing values of dialogue and love among the people of the world, transmitting to them their experience of unity in life, a uniqueness worthy of being a model to be emulated.

Your short visit to Lebanon, during which time is intensified, will constitute a historical turning point for it in this fateful stage, and Lebanon and the region will inscribe this visit with letters of unextinguishable light and inexhaustible love.