Pope Leo XIV will make his first international journey since becoming head of the Catholic Church with a six-day visit to Türkiye and Lebanon beginning in late November, the Vatican announced on Tuesday.
The 70-year-old American pontiff will travel to Türkiye from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30 before visiting Lebanon, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement. The visit will include a pilgrimage to Iznik, which is known in antiquity as Nicaea, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a landmark moment in Christian history.
The Council of Nicaea, convened in A.D. 325 by Roman Emperor Constantine, brought together bishops from across the empire. It produced the Nicene Creed, a foundational statement of Christian belief affirming one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that remains central to most Christian denominations today.
The anniversary, long regarded as a milestone in Catholic-Orthodox relations, was expected to have been celebrated by Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who died in April at the age of 88. Francis had planned to visit Türkiye in May.
Leo, who succeeded Francis in May, said early in his papacy that he hoped to fulfill his predecessor’s plans.
The most recent visit to Türkiye took place in 2014, when Francis met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and participated in joint prayers at Istanbul’s Patriarchal Church of St. George.
In May 2025, Erdoğan sent a letter to the new pope, congratulating him on his election and expressing his wish for joint efforts to end humanitarian tragedies worldwide, especially in the Gaza Strip.
Leo, like his predecessor Francis, has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, especially as Israel's offensive rages on in Gaza.
The last papal visit to Lebanon was in 2012, when Pope Benedict XVI traveled there to promote peace and interreligious dialogue during the final months of his papacy.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun formally invited Leo to visit during an audience at the Vatican in June. The trip comes amid fragile calm in Lebanon’s southern border areas, where Israel maintains troop positions and periodically carries out strikes.
In July, Israeli forces hit Gaza’s Holy Family Catholic Church, killing civilians, including the parish priest. The Vatican and much of the international community swiftly condemned the strike. Pope Leo XIV expressed profound sorrow, urging an immediate cease-fire and calling for “dialogue, reconciliation and lasting peace.”
As the first American pope in history, Leo’s upcoming trip offers an opportunity to reaffirm the Vatican’s call for dialogue and peace across the Middle East, especially as violence continues in Gaza and tensions persist in Lebanon.
