Pope sends 250,000 euro to Lebanon

A sign of his "fatherly closeness" after explosion in Beirut.

Pope Francis donated 250,000 Euro as initial aid to assist the Church in Lebanon following the explosion in Beirut.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced the pope’s donation in a statement on Friday.

The donation “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 statement reads.

The Church, through Caritas Lebanon and Caritas Internationalis, is helping to provide emergency assistance for those affected by the Beirut explosion.

The Dicastery for Integral Human Development also echoed Pope Francis’ invitation to pray for Lebanon, which he made during the weekly General Audience on Wednesday:

Let us pray for the victims, for their families; and let us pray for Lebanon so that, through the dedication of all its social, political and religious elements, it might face this extremely tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the grave crisis they are experiencing.