Beirut, September 17 (Reuters): Pope Benedict urged Arab leaders on Sunday at a huge open-air Mass in Lebanon to work for reconciliation in a Middle East riven by Syria’s civil war and blazing with fury over a film mocking the Muslim Prophet Mohammad.

“May God grant to your country, to Syria and to the Middle East, the gift of peaceful hearts, the silencing of weapons and the cessation of all violence,” the pope said in a prayer attended by 350,000 people.

Addressing worshippers on the Mediterranean seafront, close to the front-line of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, Benedict said Lebanese people “know all too well the tragedy of conflict and...the cry of the widow and the orphan”.

Peace between warring factions and among the many religious groups in the Middle East has been a central theme of his visit to Lebanon, along with his call to Christians not to leave the region despite war and growing pressure from radical Islamists. “In a world where violence constantly leaves behind its grim trail of death and destruction, to serve justice and peace is urgently necessary,” he  said.

Politicians from all sectors of multi-faith Lebanon attended the Mass.