Pope John Paul II arrived here Saturday to a joyful, flag-waving welcome as Lebanese Muslims and Christians set aside their differences in the hope that his visit will speed political reconciliation and reconstruction in a country still struggling to recover from civil war.
After welcoming ceremonies at Beirut's international airport, where armed militias once reigned, the 76-year-old pontiff made his way into the city by motorcade, riding slowly past gutted, shell-pocked buildings along the infamous Green Line that once divided Muslim and Christian enclaves.He was cheered by jubilant crowds of Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims, including young women wearing head scarves - a sign of Muslim piety - and clutching yellow-and-white Vatican flags.
The visit is the pope's first to the Middle East and the first by a pontiff to Lebanon since Pope Paul VI stopped here in 1964 for a news conference en route to Bombay.
In southern Beirut, a stronghold of the radical Shiite group known as Hezbollah, a poster welcoming the pope appeared alongside a mural of Iran's late spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
"He's coming to see the Lebanese, not Christians or Muslims," said Nada Atwa, 28, a Shiite Muslim from southern Beirut, as she waited on the motorcade route near the Green Line. "I hope he brings peace and unity to Lebanon."
The pope has his detractors in Lebanon, among them some Muslim leaders, who see him as overly sympathetic toward Israel, and right-wing Christians, who fear his visit will be interpreted as an endorsement of the Syrian military presence that they oppose.
Helicopters wheeled overhead, sharpshooters took up positions on rooftops, and more than 20,000 Lebanese troops have been deployed in and around Beirut to ensure the pope's safety during his scheduled 32-hour visit.
Maronite Catholics have expressed hopes that the visit will help restore some of the power and prestige they have lost since the civil war ended in 1990. Maronites, who are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church but have their own liturgy, make up most of Lebanon's Christians - who constitute 30 to 45 percent of Lebanon's estimated 3.2 million citizens.
The pope, at the airport, kissed a box of Lebanese soil offered by Lebanese schoolchildren. In brief remarks, he largely steered clear of politics, dwelling on the need for unity and reconciliation.
"Everyone is invited to engage in the service of peace and reconciliation . . . so violence will never triumph over dialogue, nor fear and caution over confidence, nor hatred over fraternal love," he said.