Summary
Pope Leo XIV will make his first foreign visits as pope to Turkiye and Lebanon in late November and early December. In Turkiye, he will commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, while in Lebanon, he plans to remember the victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Both trips are seen as significant for promoting understanding between different religious communities.
Key Facts
- Pope Leo XIV's first foreign trip as pope will be to Turkiye from November 27-30, followed by Lebanon from November 30-December 2.
- Leo XIV is the first pope from the United States.
- The trips to Turkiye and Lebanon are symbolically important for Christians and Muslims.
- Pope Leo plans to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in Turkiye.
- He will meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians, during his visit.
- In Lebanon, Pope Leo will commemorate the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which killed 200 people.
- Lebanon has the highest ratio of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state.
- Pope Leo has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
