Pope Leo XIV brings messages of peace and Christian unity on trip to Turkey and Lebanon
Pope Leo XIV visited Türkiye and Lebanon first trip abroadA visit that fulfills the late Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Orthodox anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a critical time for efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Middle East tensions.
Leo will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and then go to Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith meetings. 2 trips.
The real reason for Leo’s trip to Türkiye was the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of Christianity. celebrate anniversary. In 325 AD, this council issued the first version of the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that millions of Christians still read every Sunday.
According to the Vatican, the tradition of religious tolerance in Lebanon and the Middle East provides a bulwark for Christians in the region; This situation becomes even more evident after years of conflicts and wars that diminished the Christian communities dating back to the time of the Apostles.
Here is the latest situation:
Leo flies to Türkiye
Pope Leo XIV boarded the ITA charter plane that will take him on his first trip as pope.
The Airbus A320 neo will first travel to Ankara, where Leo will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and make his first speech. The papal delegation, bringing with it approximately 80 international journalists, will fly to Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith activities.
The American pope will travel to Lebanon on Sunday for the second and final leg of the trip.
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States, and at least two journalists brought pumpkin pies onto the plane to Ankara, hoping to share them with the pope.
