Pope Leo XIV, who has chosen Turkey and Lebanon as his first foreign travel destinations, arrived in Ankara today and will then leave for Lebanon.
Publish dateThursday 27 November 2025 - 16:32
Story Code : 338345
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: According to Al-Mayadeen, Pope Leo XIV will begin his first foreign trip today with a trip to Turkey. During this trip, he will meet with Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, and then go to Lebanon.
The first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church chose Turkey, with a predominantly Muslim population, as his first foreign destination to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea; the council that approved the Nicene Creed, which is used by most Christians in the world today.
Pope Leo will give his first speech outside the Vatican today and visit cultural sites in Turkey before traveling to Lebanon.
Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent in the Vatican reported that at 8:40 a.m., Pope Leo officially departed for Turkey on his first official foreign trip, accompanied by a diplomatic, medical and press delegation.
The pope will first visit Ankara, the Turkish capital, where he will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and address political leaders.
This evening, the pope will travel to Istanbul, home of Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians.
Also tomorrow, Friday, the pope and Bartholomew will travel to Iznik, 140 kilometers southeast of Istanbul, formerly known as Nicaea, where early church leaders formulated the Nicene Creed, which outlines the core beliefs of most Christians today.
The pope’s trip to Lebanon begins next Sunday, and peace is set to be the main focus of his trip to Lebanon.
After the brutal Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb in the past few days, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced that the necessary security measures are being taken to ensure the Pope's safety in Lebanon.
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