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"The Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood. Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25 March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!" Benedict XVI ended his last speech in Lebanon with this invocation to Our Lady on behalf of all Lebanese, Christians and Muslims.
The pontiff said goodbye to President Michel Sleiman and other civil authorities, thanking them for their role in the visit's organisation. He also thanked the representatives of the region's Catholic Churches for welcoming him "as if Peter himself had come to you". Likewise, he did the same with the representatives of the Orthodox and Protestant Churches.
He had a special farewell message for Muslims, for the "warmth and your affection" with which they welcomed him, and which he "compared to one of those renowned oriental spices which enriches the taste of food." Such "warmth and your affection [. . .] make me wish to return" to Lebanon.
For Benedict XVI, the country and Christian-Muslim coexistence are an even more urgent message for the international community. "In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in celebrating peace."
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Inspiration for these articles comes from Gideon and Hilda Hagstoz' Heroes of the Reformation