BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Church bells rang out and a 21-gun salute boomed as Pope John Paul II arrived Saturday, May 10th., 1997 in Beirut. His is the first visit to the Middle East by a Roman Catholic pontiff since 1964, and the first ever official papal visit to Lebanon since the Apostle St. Peter. He was met by Maronite Catholic Patriach Sfeir and the nation's leaders. The pope wore a scarf emblazoned with a cedar tree, Lebanon's national symbol. Pope John Paul II bent and kissed a container of earth from Lebanon that was presented to him, a practice he follows in each country he visits.

7:00p.m. (9:00 am.) Prayer meeting with youth of Lebanon and signing of post-synodal apostolic exhortation in Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. Talk by Pope.