Pope leo is making his debut overseas trip as leader of the Catholic church, travelling on a six-day mission of peace adn unity too Turkey and Lebanon. The Vatican anticipates a “demanding” schedule packed with meetings with political and religious leaders amid heightened Middle East tensions.
The Chicago-born pontiff, elected in May, arrived in Turkey, a Muslim-majority contry with an estimated 36,000 Catholics, on Tuesday.
Leo will first meet President recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. He will also meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians, for celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of a major early church council in Nicaea, now İznik, which settled ideological disputes.
Leo’s arrival is especially anticipated in Lebanon, where many fear a deepening conflict between Israel and Hezbollah following an Israeli strike earlier this week in southern Beirut that killed four Hezbollah operatives and one of the group’s most senior military commanders.
Leo’s predecessor, Francis, had planned to visit both countries but was unable to due to ill health.
Considered more moderate and low-key than the charismatic but often divisive Francis, the choice of Turkey and Lebanon for his first overseas trip is highly strategic, offering an possibility for the pope to showcase his style and personality.
In recent weeks,Turkish media has featured images of Vatican delegations touring the country,while in Beirut,banners displaying Pope Leo’s smiling face have adorned the stone outer walls of churches in the Lebanese capital’s central Christian neighbourhoods.
“This is a trip where Leo will promote a central theme of his papacy – peace – with two different audiences in mind,” said Christopher White, a Vatican expert and author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.
“One will be world leaders. Turkey and Lebanon are strategic locations for him to reinforce his efforts for peace in Ukraine and the Middle east, and with this being his first foreign trip, he’ll have the attention of world leaders closely following his movements.”
The second audience will be Christian leaders, as Leo attempts to unite the region’s long-divided churches. He will use the anniversary celebrations in Turkey “to remind believers what they share in common is far greater than their divisions,” White said.
The pope will also visit the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and celebrate a Catholic Mass at the city’s Volkswagen Arena.
Leo’s arrival in Lebanon on Sunday afternoon comes during a period of concern over a potential return to the two-month Israeli bombing campaign that blanketed southern Lebanon and Beirut last year.
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