VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo plans to visit Lebanon, the country's senior Catholic official announced on Wednesday, in what could be the first visit outside Italy by the new leader of the global Church.
The pope will travel to Lebanon "by December", Cardinal Bechara Rai told the al-Arabiya television channel.
Rai, leader of the 3.5-million-member Maronite Catholic Church, did not give a specific date for the visit but said "preparations are already underway".
A Lebanese official familiar with the matter confirmed that discussions were being held about a visit towards the end of the year, though a date had not yet been finalised.
Leo, the first U.S. pope, was elected by the world's Catholic cardinals on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, who had planned to visit Lebanon but was unable to go because of health issues.
Lebanon is home to more than two million Catholics, according to Vatican statistics.
A Vatican spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Rai's remarks.
A Vatican official, who asked not to be named, confirmed that a trip was being planned and said it could be part of a tour that would also include Turkey.
Travelling abroad has become a major part of the modern papacy, with popes seeking to meet local Catholics, spread the faith, and conduct international diplomacy. They often draw crowds in the millions.
Francis made 47 visits abroad during his 12-year papacy, travelling to 68 countries. He made a policy of visiting countries that often did not draw international attention as a way of highlighting problems in what he called the "peripheries" of the world.
Leo has been expected to visit Turkey in late November as part of celebrations for the 1,700th anniversary of a major early Church council, which took place in Nicaea, now called Iznik.
In a message to Lebanon earlier this month, Leo commemorated the fifth anniversary of a huge chemical explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
"Beloved and suffering Lebanon remains at the centre of our prayers," said the pope.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee;Additional reporting by Maya Gebeily in BeirutEditing by Helen Popper)
