On Wednesday, Pope Francis held his first public audience since the start of the Coronavirus lockdown. The event took place in the San Damasco courtyard of the Vatican, in which the Pope addressed 500 Roman Catholics. The Pope held the event in solidarity and remembrance of the explosion in Beirut earlier in August, which killed 190 people and injured nearly 6,000 more.
The explosion, as well as the pandemic, has only worsened Lebanon's situation which was wracked with political and financial, and federal instability and corruption previously. The Pope thus called for a day of commemoration to be held on September 4th to show support for the people of Lebanon.
The Pope also urged the people to stand together in solidarity amidst the current pandemic. In his address, Pope Francis stated, "The current pandemic has highlighted our interdependence. We are all linked to each other, for better or for worse. To come out of this crisis better than before, we have to do so together, all of us, in solidarity."
