Bethlehem’s recently appointed mayor, Maher Nicola Canawati, met Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday morning after the General Audience, carrying with him the concerns of his people and a plea for peace and hope in the Holy Land.

“Actually, the first letter that I wrote when I became the Mayor of Bethlehem was a letter to the Pope, because we believe that from here we can do many things and we can support our people,” he said. “And the most important thing is to give them hope.”

The mayor explained that emigration continues to drain Bethlehem and other Palestinian cities, draining the Holy Land of its Christian presence.

“People have been leaving Bethlehem, leaving Palestine because of what's happening and what's going on,” he said, noting that settlements surrounding Bethlehem now rival the city’s own population and put much pressure on resources.

Read the rest of the Vatican News article by Linda Bordoni here.