Beirut, Apr. 21, (dpa/GNA) – Lebanon is to mourn the death of Pope Francis for three days, the government said on Monday, after the pontiff passed away in the Vatican aged 88.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has ordered an official mourning period to honour Francis starting Monday and lasting until Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the secretary general of the Council of Ministers, Mahmoud Makkieh.

Flags on all official government buildings will be flown at half-mast and television and radio programmes “will be modified to reflect the momentous event,” it said.

Lebanon is a multi-confessional Arab country that is home to a large Christian population.

Under Lebanon’s complex power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim and the prime minister a Sunni muslim.

GNA

PDC