Pope Leo XIV will visit Turkey and Lebanon

The Vatican has announced that the pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, will travel to Lebanon and Turkey for his first papal trip overseas later this year, as reported by the New York Times via Reuters on October 7th.

The leader of the Catholic Church is set to visit Turkey and Lebanon from November 27th to December 2nd of this year. Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, announced that the itinerary of the Pope’s first international trip will be revealed in due time.

Pope Leo expressed in a press conference that this was a “historic opportunity” for him to push for greater Christian unity, and to spread “the message of peace in the Middle East”, with Lebanon having suffered greatly from the region’s instability. Notably, Lebanon is also a key example of co-existence and shared living between Muslims and Christians.

There was speculation that he would be visiting Lebanon for his first trip abroad as the new pontiff. Lebanon’s Archbishop Paul Sayah previously confirmed that the Vatican was reviewing the plan but that dates were not confirmed.

In the Pope’s visit to Turkey he is expected to be meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew, who is known as the spiritual figure behind the 260 million Orthodox Christians in the world. This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a crucial moment in “genuine unity in faith” between Catholic and Orthodox Christians, according to the Pope.

A spokesman of the Lebanese Maronite Church said the trip to Lebanon would send a “message to the entire world and to Christians in the East, who are marginalised.”

Pope Leo has expressed that he wishes for pacification in the Middle East, as conflict and the persecution of Christians has caused followers of the faith to flee the region. He recognised the ones who stayed in the region despite the temptation to leave, and applauded the preservation of their cultures.

He stated “The Church needs you!” when speaking to Eastern Catholics who are set to visit Rome next year for the Jubilee pilgrimage.

The Pope has been very vocal about Israel’s war on Gaza and he has used strong words to describe the intensity of the conflict, stating that the violence in the Middle East has developed “with a diabolical intensity previously unknown.” He also condemned the “barbarity” of the Gaza war and the indiscriminate attacks on Gaza’s Palestinians.

He seems to be continuing in the steps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died earlier this year, as announced by the Vatican on April 21st. The late Pope Francis had a deep relationship with a Catholic Church located in Gaza which he called every day to listen to the priest, and he labelled Israel’s attacks on Gaza as “terrorism.”

Pope Francis had said several times that he hoped to visit Lebanon, and now after a period of unkept promises, Pope Leo XIV will represent the Vatican in the Levantine country.

The New York Times via Reuters, Maghrebi.org