Pope Leo XIV to Visit Turkiye and Lebanon, Following Pope Francis's Planned Path

Vatican City, Oct 7 (AP) Pope Leo XIV is set to embark on his inaugural foreign journey as pope, traveling to Turkiye and Lebanon next month. This symbolic trip serves as an outreach to both Christian and Muslim communities in nations that Pope Francis had once planned to visit.

According to the Vatican's announcement on Tuesday, Pope Leo will be in Turkiye from November 27 to 30, followed by a visit to Lebanon from November 30 to December 2. While in Turkiye, he will make a significant pilgrimage to Iznik, commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity's first ecumenical council.

This anniversary holds considerable significance for Catholic-Orthodox relations. Pope Francis, invited by Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, had intended to celebrate this landmark event with a visit to Turkiye in May.

Following Pope Francis's passing in April, Pope Leo expressed his commitment to realizing the plans initiated by his predecessor.

The upcoming trip offers history’s first American pope an opportunity to broadly discuss peace in the Middle East and address the challenges faced by Christian communities in the region.

Like his predecessor, Pope Leo has been a consistent advocate for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, a stance that resonates deeply amid ongoing conflicts, particularly Israel's military actions in Gaza.

The last papal visit to Lebanon was by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012, marking the final foreign visit of his papacy.

While Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, had long aspired to visit Lebanon, the country's political and economic turmoil ultimately prevented such a visit during his lifetime.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)