Pope Francis has sent a donation of 250,000 euros to the Church of Lebanon.

This gesture was done through the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human

Development, and published by the Holy See Press Office today, Aug. 8, 2020.

The initial aid of 250,000 euros, it explained, is to meet the needs of the Lebanese Church

in these moments of difficulty and suffering.

“This donation,” it explained, “is intended as a sign of His Holiness’s attention and closeness to the affected population and of his fatherly closeness to people in serious difficulty.”

The aid was sent through the Apostolic Nunciature of Beirut and will serve to assist

those affected by the terrible explosion in the port on 4 August, which has caused

hundreds of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injured and displaced persons, in

addition to destroying buildings, churches, monasteries, facilities and basic sanitation.

An immediate emergency and first aid response is already taking place with medical care,

shelters for the displaced and centres of basic needs made available by the Church through

Caritas Lebanon, Caritas Internationalis and several Caritas sisters organizations.

“We all join,” the release concluded, stating, “in the invitation of Pope Francis, expressed during his General Audience on August 5: “We pray for the victims and their families; and we pray for Lebanon that, with the commitment of all its social, political and religious components, it will be able to face this tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the serious crisis it is going through.”