Pope Francis has a great desire to visit Lebanon, he told worshippers at the Vatican on the one-year anniversary of the deadly blast that tore through Beirut.

"Dear Lebanese, my desire to come to visit you is great. And I will not tire of praying for you so that Lebanon returns to being a message of brotherhood, a message of peace for all of the Middle East," he told the crowd.

The Aug. 4, 2020, blast at Lebanon’s most vital port killed at least 215 people, injured over 6,500 and displaced more than 300,000 from their homes. Much of the Lebanese capital was harmed by the blast, which caused billions in damage and added to the small Mediterranean country’s already dire economic woes. 

Human Rights Watch concluded in a report Tuesday that senior Lebanese officials knew about and did nothing to prevent the risks associated with the stockpile of ammonium nitrate that caused the explosion. Lebanon’s leaders have since vowed to investigate the blast but those efforts have stalled amid what rights groups blame on a lack of judicial independence and fair trial violations.