Pope Leo XIV wraps up his Turkey trip, meets Orthodox leaders and heads to crisis-hit Lebanon on his first international tour as pontiff
ISTANBUL: Pope Leo XIV concludes his four-day visit to Turkey on Sunday before traveling to Lebanon with a message of peace for the crisis-ravaged nation.
The pontiff received a warm welcome from Turkey’s small Christian community during his first overseas trip since becoming leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
He met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before traveling to Iznik for celebrations marking 1,700 years since the First Council of Nicaea, one of the early Church’s most important gatherings.
On Saturday, the American pope hosted thousands of worshippers who braved rain to attend a public mass in Istanbul.
Many traveled from across Turkey for the multilingual service, which featured beautiful and haunting choral interludes that moved attendees.
On his final morning, Leo attended a prayer service at the Armenian cathedral before leading a divine liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St. George.
He shared lunch with Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, after they signed a joint declaration pledging to take “new and courageous steps on the path towards unity”.
Despite doctrinal differences that caused the Great Schism of 1054, the two sides maintain dialogue and hold joint celebrations.
They agreed to continue efforts establishing a common date for Easter, currently celebrated on different days by Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
The pope’s visit comes as the Orthodox world appears more fragmented than ever, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine accelerating the split between Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates.
Pope Leo is the fifth pontiff to visit Turkey after Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
He departed Istanbul at 1145 GMT for Beirut, where he will stay until Tuesday.
The six-day two-nation trip marks the first major international test for the first American pope, elected head of the Catholic Church in May.
His understated style contrasts with his charismatic and impulsive predecessor, Francis.
While Leo’s visit drew little attention in Muslim-majority Turkey, it is eagerly awaited in religiously diverse Lebanon.
Lebanon has suffered multiple crises since 2019, including economic collapse, the devastating 2020 Beirut port blast and recent conflict with Israel. – AFP
