Pope Benedict arrives in Lebanon on Friday to bring a message of peace to a region torn by civil war in neighbouring Syria and strained by violent Islamist protests against the United States in Libya and Egypt.
While those tensions overshadowed preparations for the religiously sensitive visit, security was low-profile in Beirut and the only protests expected against his presence were due to take place far from the capital.
Even the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah has hung banners along the airport highway greeting Benedict with a picture of him and texts in Arabic and French saying: “Hezbollah welcomes the pope in the homeland of coexistence”.
Nearby, the movement – which Israel and the United States consider a terrorist group – put up Arabic-only banners for local consumption with a different message: “Welcome to you in the homeland of resistance.”
Beirut-based Reverend Samir Khalil Samir, a leading Catholic expert on Islam, did not expect major security problems despite anti-US protests in Libya, Egypt and Yemen because he said all Lebanese communities saw the trip as a gesture of peace.
“He will bring a spiritual message – one with political consequences, of course, but spiritual,” he told reporters.
The 85-year-old pope, on his fourth trip to the Middle East as pope, will stress unity among the different Christian churches in the region and peace between Christians and Muslims during the visit, which will be restricted to Beirut and its surroundings and end on Sunday.