Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asserted on Monday that "the road to peace is difficult, but we have the will to achieve it. Despite the war, things are moving in the right direction, and nothing will stop us."

Speaking during a meeting with a delegation from Saint Joseph University, Aoun said: "Only the state protects us, and the Lebanese people aspire to a system founded on transparency, justice, and efficiency."

He stressed that the state is working to attract new talent and fresh expertise capable of contributing to the country's reconstruction. "We are striving to restore trust between the state and the people, as well as between Lebanon and the outside world. Things have begun to move in the right direction despite the obstacles imposed by the war, but nothing will stop us," he added.

Aoun with a delegation from the Association of Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family. (Lebanese Presidency)

Aoun also received Patriarchal Vicar Bishop Hanna Alwan, who headed a delegation from the Association of Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family.

Bishop Alwan conveyed to the President the greetings of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi and affirmed his support for the course led by the President of the Republic to save Lebanon.

During the meeting, the Superior General of the Association, Mother Mary-Antoinette Saade, formally invited Aoun to attend the official celebration marking the beatification of the Association's founder, the Venerable Patriarch Elias Howayek.

The ceremony will take place on Saturday afternoon, July 25, at the Patriarchal Edifice in Dimane. It will be presided over by Patriarch Al-Rahi and attended by the personal envoy of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Holy See, who will read the decree of beatification on behalf of the Pope.