Pope Leo XIV begins first overseas trip with arrival in Turkey

• Pope Leo XIV begins his first overseas trip in Turkey, also visiting Lebanon.
• He will meet President Erdogan, address officials, and emphasize interfaith dialogue.
• Leo will celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea with Orthodox Christians.

Pope Leo XIV touched down in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday, marking the first international journey of his papacy, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist on board his plane.

The American pontiff arrived at 12:23 pm local time (0923 GMT) and is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As part of the opening day of his four-day visit, the Pope will address officials, civil society representatives, and members of the diplomatic corps in Ankara before travelling to Istanbul later in the evening.

Accompanied by more than 80 journalists, Leo’s trip is expected to draw global attention. Since his election in May as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, he has been praised for his media skills, holding regular press briefings and engaging with reporters weekly. In a bid to reach a wider audience, the pope will deliver all speeches during this visit in English, rather than Italian, his usual language.

Leo is expected to emphasize dialogue with Islam in Turkey, where Christians make up just 0.1 percent of the population of 86 million, mostly Sunni Muslims. He is also likely to address broader crises in the Middle East while treading carefully around sensitive issues such as human rights, arrests of Erdogan opponents, and the status of Turkey’s Christian minority.

The Vatican continues to value dialogue with Ankara, recognizing Turkey’s key role in regional peace and its hosting of more than 2.5 million mostly Syrian refugees. During his visit, Leo will pay respects at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, highlighting the country’s secular traditions.

On Friday, Leo will celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in Iznik, joining Orthodox Christian leader Patriarch Bartholomew I in a prayer ceremony on the shores of Lake Iznik.

“Bartholomew and I have already met several times, and I think this will be an exceptional opportunity to promote unity among all Christians,” Leo said. The event is significant amid ongoing divisions within the Orthodox world, which have deepened due to conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.

Leo will become the fifth pope to visit Turkey, following Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

After concluding his Turkish leg, he will travel to Lebanon, a nation facing severe economic and political crises and ongoing security challenges despite a ceasefire with 'Israel'.