Vatican City: Pope Francis said on Wednesday he hoped the people of Lebanon can be comforted by justice over the Beirut port blast that killed at least 215 people two years ago, saying “the truth can never be hidden”.

Speaking at his weekly general audience, Pope Francis noted that Thursday would be the second anniversary of the blast, which also wounded thousands of people and damaged large swathes of the capital.

“My thoughts go to the families of the victims of that disastrous event and to the dear Lebanese people. I pray so that each one can be consoled by faith and comforted by justice and by truth, which can never be hidden,” he said.

Despite the devastation wrought by the blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, a judicial investigation has brought no senior official to account.

Speaking to pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope expressed hope that Lebanon, with the help of the international community, will continue on the path of rebirth, remaining faithful to its vocation to be a land of peace and pluralism, where communities of different religions can live in fraternity.

On 4 August 2020, a massive blast ripped through the port of Beirut and the surrounding areas, killing more than 215 people and injuring thousands.

The force of the explosion also caused damage to buildings, including Churches and monasteries.

The blast was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored in a warehouse at the port of Lebanon’s capital.

At the time, the Church, through Caritas Lebanon and Caritas Internationalis, helped to provide emergency assistance for those affected by the disaster.

In a gesture of solidarity with the people of Lebanon following the blast, Pope Francis donated 250,000 Euro as initial aid to assist the Church in this moment of difficulty through the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Just a few days shy of the second anniversary of the explosion, a part of the grain silos damaged in the 2020 port blast collapsed.

The silos, which had been on fire for some weeks prior to Sunday's collapse, sent plumes of smoke into the sky, reviving traumatic memories of the August 2020 blast.

According to officials, the fire was the result of summer heat igniting fermenting grains that had been left rotting inside since the explosion.