Pope Leo set for first foreign trip, bringing peace message to Türkiye, Lebanon

Pope Leo will embark on his first journey outside Italy as leader of the Catholic Church on November 27, traveling to Türkiye and Lebanon, where he is expected to appeal for regional peace and encourage unity among long-divided Christian churches.

The first US pope, Leo will deliver his inaugural speeches to foreign governments and visit several sensitive cultural sites during the November 27 to December 2 trip, Reuters reports.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, had intended to visit both countries but was unable to do so due to worsening health. Francis died on April 21, and Leo, originally from Chicago, was elected pope on May 8 by the world’s cardinals.

“A pope’s first foreign trip is an opportunity to capture and hold the world’s attention,” said John Thavis, a retired Vatican correspondent who covered three papacies. “What’s at stake for Pope Leo is his ability to connect with a wider audience, in a region where war and peace, humanitarian needs and interfaith dialogue are crucial issues,” he added.

Leo’s visit will begin in Türkiye from November 27 to 30, where he will participate in several joint events with Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians. Strengthening Christian unity will be a central theme. In Lebanon—the Middle Eastern country with the highest proportion of Christians—Leo is expected to amplify calls for peace.

Modern popes often use foreign trips to shape international discourse. Francis, who made 47 foreign visits over 12 years, was known for off-the-cuff remarks and candid in-flight press conferences. Leo, by contrast, has a more reserved style and typically sticks to prepared texts. “What we’ve seen so far is a pope who’s very careful when he speaks,” said Rev. Thomas Reese. “But every trip is a risk. There can always be mistakes or fumbles.”

In Türkiye, Leo and Bartholomew will commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea—held in what is now Iznik—which produced a creed still recited by most of the world’s 2.6 billion Christians. Rev. John Chryssavgis, an adviser to Bartholomew, called the anniversary “especially meaningful as a sign and pledge of unity in an otherwise fragmented and conflicted world.”

Leo will also visit Istanbul’s Blue Mosque—his first visit to a Muslim place of worship—and celebrate a Catholic Mass at the city’s Volkswagen Arena, which seats around 5,000 people. Türkiye, a predominantly Muslim nation, has roughly 36,000 Catholics among its 85 million inhabitants, Vatican statistics show.

In Lebanon, the pope will pray at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed 200 people and caused billions in damages. He will also host an inter-religious meeting and lead an outdoor Mass on the Beirut waterfront, though he will not travel to the country’s south, a target of recent Israeli strikes.

Rev. Michel Abboud, head of Lebanon’s Catholic charity network, described the visit as one of “solidarity.” “The people will know that, despite all the difficult situations they have gone through, they must not feel abandoned,” he said.

By Vafa Guliyeva