Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon for historic Nicaea anniversary, support of local Christians

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Turkey and Lebanon during the period Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. It will be Leo’s first trip abroad since he was elected as the new pope in May. During his trip, the pope will mark the 1,700th anniversary of Council of Nicaea, which is located in modern-day Iznik in Turkey. Christianity’s first ecumenical council was held there. 

Another aim with the trip is reportedly to boost Lebanon’s dwindling Christian community, which is threatened by radical Islam and socioeconomic pressure. In 1970, Christians constituted over 60% of Lebanon’s total population. Due to emigration to the West, Christians today only constitute around a third of the total Lebanese population. 

The new American-born pope’s first visit abroad will be covered by some 80 international journalists as well as local media in Turkey and Lebanon. Natalia Imperatori-Lee, associate professor of theology at Fordham University in New York, explained the extensive media coverage. 

“Anytime the pope travels, it’s a big deal,” Imperatori-Lee said. In addition, she believes that U.S. media is particularly interested due to the pope’s American origin and his opposition to the Trump administration’s policies against illegal migrants in the United States. 

“He is still driving coverage here because of his engagement with one of the most important issues we’re facing, which is migration,” explained Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. 

“I think this trip will drive attention again to the peripheries and to the vulnerable,” Daniels predicted. 

Unlike his predecessors who mainly communicated in Italian, pope Leo reportedly plans to deliver his public remarks in English during his trip in Turkey. In Lebanon, the pope will speak in English as well as French, due to the sizeable French-speaking population in the Middle Eastern country. The overall purpose is to make his statements more accessible to the international largely non-Italian-speaking crowds. 

The pope is also expected to pray together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians during the stop in Iznik. 

“We all understand that 1,000 years of division has inflicted a deep wound that cannot be healed easily,” Bartholomew told the Greek news outlet Kathimerini recently. “We have an obligation, however, to strive to heal that wound, mend the injuries, bridge the distances and restore unity,” he added, referring to the historical division between Western and Eastern Christianity. 

The pope’s scheduled trip to Lebanon comes shortly after Israel eliminated the terrorist organization Hezbollah’s military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai in the Lebanese capital Beirut. 

“It happened, but it doesn’t affect the places or where the pope is going,” said Bishop George Bacouni, archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut.

While focusing on the Christian community, the pope will reportedly also offer his support for Lebanese of all religious backgrounds who have in recent years faced the consequences of an economic meltdown in the country. 

“Many families feel that they are surviving day by day with really very little visibility on the future,” said Marielle Boutros, project coordinator in Lebanon for Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity. “So this visit of His Holiness, it’s not simply symbolic. It is a really concrete sign that Lebanon is not forgotten."

His predecessor, the late Pope Francis, was a vocal critic of Israel during the Hamas-initiated Gaza war. While expressing empathy for the population in Gaza, Pope Leo has so far embraced a more diplomatic approach and appears to be seeking good relations with all sides including Israel. 

In September, Pope Leo met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the Vatican. 

“The very fact that Pope Leo XIV, who has just entered his office, receives the president of the State of Israel at the Vatican is a very important statement,” Herzog stated. 

The pope called at the time for a permanent Gaza ceasefire and the implementation of the internationally favored two-state solution.