Pope Leo visits Türkiye for first time six months after taking office

Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Turkey for his first foreign trip since taking office, where he will celebrate a historic Christian anniversary before heading to Lebanon days after Israeli air strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Heading to Ankara, the Pope summed up the message of his trip: “All men and women can truly be brothers and sisters, despite their differences, despite their different religions, despite their different beliefs.”

The visit to both countries was originally planned by the late Pope Francis, but from the moment Pope Leo stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election in May, the overriding theme – building bridges – was his own.

Since becoming pope six months ago, he has given off an air of extreme caution, even caution. But his diplomatic powers will be under close scrutiny during this visit.

A key moment of the trip will occur in the Turkish town of Iznik, home to the ancient city of Nicaea. Pope Leo and other leaders of the Christian tradition will gather to mark the anniversary of an ancient council held there 1,700 years ago. In 325 AD, among other important decisions, more than 200 bishops in the council affirmed the belief that Jesus was the Son of God, culminating in the so-called Nicene Creed.

The Eastern and Western branches of Christianity would later split sharply, but on this trip a message of unity and bridging divisions would be delivered.

In Türkiye, the pope will also visit the Blue Mosque, as his predecessors Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI did. Before flying to the second leg, he will meet with other religious leaders in a gesture of interreligious dialogue.

The Vatican said plans for the pope’s visit to Lebanon had not changed following Israeli air strikes on Beirut earlier this week.

He will meet more faith leaders and listen to the voices of Lebanon’s young people, whose visit in particular will boost the country’s estimated one-third of Christians.

On the last day of the trip, Pope Leo will celebrate Mass on the Beirut waterfront, the site of the 2020 port explosion, and pray for the more than 200 people killed and 7,000 injured.

While he has spoken out in recent months on some issues close to his heart, such as the dignity of immigrants, he has certainly not been as overtly political as his predecessors.

He walked the fine line so finely that, in some cases, both progressives and traditionalists within the Catholic Church showed his support for their school of thought.

For similar reasons, it is thought that cardinals of different factions gathered around him in conclave.

Pope Francis was seen as a visionary, but he was not too worried about reaching consensus, leaving behind a somewhat divided church. Pope Leo has so far taken a very different approach, gently adhering to some of his predecessor’s progressive ideals while focusing on traditionalist views.

He has repeatedly called for an end to the war, but not in the same way as Pope Francis, who memorably called the Holy Family Basilica in Gaza daily to express his support.

Pope Leo is likely to comment on his views on the conflict in the region during meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Lebanese civil leaders during the trip.

We’ll likely hear some of his impressions at the end of the trip, as it’s customary for the pope to hold a press conference with the traveling media on his flight back to Rome.

This trip we will hear a lot more of a pope speaking with a Chicago accent.

Although Pope Leo, who is fluent in multiple languages, has so far delivered his public addresses mainly in Italian, the Vatican has confirmed that he will speak English throughout the trip to Turkey and some French while in Lebanon.