By Catherine Cartier
BEIRUT, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Filipina worker Loren Capobres said the world stood still when she kissed Pope Leo’s hand this week in Lebanon, but hopes his message for peace will linger after his departure, leading to better working conditions and a lasting peace in the country.
Capobres, who is Catholic and has worked in Lebanon for 17 years, met Leo on Monday, alongside priests and other church volunteers on his first overseas trip as pope, in which he called on the Middle East’s leaders to reject the horror of war.
She shared testimonies of the particular challenges migrants faced during last year’s war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, when they were turned away from shelters hosting Lebanese fleeing intense Israeli strikes.
“Migrants like me are not just workers. We are co-workers. We are contributors in this country, helpers, builders,” said Capobres, one of more than 170,000 migrant workers in Lebanon.
A LASTING IMPACT
Leo’s departure comes as fears grow in Lebanon that a new conflict could start. Israeli strikes have killed at least 127 civilians since a 2024 truce, the United Nations human rights office said last month. A strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs last month was interpreted by many as a signal of a looming war.
Capobres hopes Leo’s push for peace across the region could take hold, and that authorities in Lebanon take heed.
“I hope that the Pope will give impact, his words will give impact for the people who are responsible for everything here in Lebanon. And, of course, I pray for peace,” she told Reuters.
During last year’s war, Capobres’s church became a shelter for migrants and refugees and she helped care for the displaced while staying there herself. “At the same time, I’m a refugee. At the same time, I’m helping,” she said.
In a Monday address after Capobres had spoken to him, Leo said that stories like hers “invite us to take a stand to ensure that no one else will have to flee from his or her country due to senseless and cruel conflicts”.
‘BE STRONG’
Leo’s message of peace has a particular significance for migrants, many of whom would not be able to travel to their home countries without risking their ability to return to work.
“So we can go home, but we cannot come back. But as I said, I need to work,” said Capobres, a domestic worker.
She said fellow migrant workers, and even her employer, got in touch to congratulate her after her address to Leo.
“I’m happy that [by] giving that testimony, I can inspire co-migrants, my fellow migrants, that their voice is heard through me,” she said.
When she finally had the opportunity to kiss the pope’s hand, Capobres said she “couldn’t see anything. I just cried. And then, you know, I feel that the world stopped”.
“But I do remember one word he said to me: be strong.”
(Reporting by Catherine Cartier; Editing by Maya Gebeily and Alex Richardson)
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