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Powerful Moments from Pope Leo XIV’s Trip to Turkey and Lebanon
Here are some of the most powerful moments from Pope Leo XIV’s first international trip.
Pope Leo XIV Calls Lebanon to Stand up, Be a Home of Justice and Fraternity
Beirut heard a different kind of voice on Tuesday morning. In a city still marked by the sounds of the 2024 escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, Pope Leo XIV urged Lebanon to rise above violence and division. “Lebanon, stand up. Be a home of justice and fraternity. Be a prophetic sign of peace for the whole of the Levant,” he said at a Mass attended by about 150,000 people at Beirut Waterfront.
Pope Leo XIV Prays at Beirut Blast Site, Meets Families Seeking Justice
Pope Leo XIV paused on the final morning of his trip to Lebanon before the ruins of the Beirut port explosion, praying in silence and placing a wreath in memory of the victims. He also met families of those killed and survivors still carrying the wounds of the 2020 blast.
Official Vatican Documents Can Now Be Drafted in Languages Other Than Latin
For the first time, the regulations stipulate that “the curial institutions will, as a general rule, draft their documents in Latin or in another language.”
Pope Leo XIV to Lebanese Youth: Love, Not Retaliation, is the Real Answer to Evil
Pope Leo XIV met Lebanese youth in the square in front of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerké on the second day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon.
Pope Leo XIV Tells Lebanese Religious Leaders Unity and Peace Are Possible
Pope Leo XIV told Lebanon’s religious leaders on Monday that their country remains a sign to the world that fear and prejudice do not have the final word.
Pope Leo XIV Entrusts Lebanon to St. Charbel’s Intercession, Prays at His Tomb
Pope Leo XIV began his second day in Lebanon on Monday with a deeply symbolic pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf.
Pope Leo XIV Calls Lebanon to Tenacity, Hope, and Reconciliation
Pope Leo XIV urged Lebanon’s leaders to embrace tenacity, dialogue, and a renewed commitment to the common good during an address on Sunday.
Pope Leo XIV Says Erdogan Talks Focused on Gaza and Ukraine, Sees Turkish Role in Peace Efforts
Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that he discussed both the Gaza war and the conflict in Ukraine directly with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Lebanon, Bringing a Message of Peace to a Nation Scarred by War
The sky over Lebanon opened Sunday not to warplanes but to the aircraft carrying Pope Leo XIV.
At Mass in Turkey, Pope Leo XIV Calls for Catholic, Ecumenical and Interreligious Unity
Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians “journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven,” keeping their eyes “fixed on both shores” until they are united “in the house of the Father.”
Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople "deeply alarmed" by Global Tensions
Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said on Saturday they are “deeply alarmed by the current international situation,” issuing a joint appeal for peace. The appeal took place during the pope’s first international trip, a journey that has taken him to Turkey and will continue on to Lebanon.
Pope Leo XIV Visits Emblematic Turkish Mosque in Sign of Fraternity with Muslims
Pope Leo XIV started his third day in Turkey on Saturday with a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul.
Pope Leo XIV Marks Nicaea Anniversary, Urges Christians to Overcome Divisions
Pope Leo XIV commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea on Thursday in the Turkish city historically known as the birthplace of the Nicene Creed, calling Christians to overcome “the scandal of divisions” and to renew their commitment to unity.
Pope Leo XIV Reminds Turkish Catholic Minority of the "logic of littleness"
Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey’s small Catholic community Friday to rediscover what he called the Gospel’s “logic of littleness,” urging them not to be discouraged by their tiny numbers but to recognize in them the strength of authentic Christian witness.
Council of Nicaea: 1,700 Years of Christian Unity amid Division
The first ecumenical council, known as the Council of Nicaea, is still accepted as authoritative by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and many Protestants.
Pies and a Baseball Bat: The Gifts Pope Leo XIV Received on Papal Flight to Turkey
“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!” Leo said as he greeted about 80 journalists aboard the chartered ITA Airways flight to Ankara on Thursday morning. “It’s a wonderful day to celebrate.”
Pope Leo Denounces "might is right" in Address to Turkish Authorities
Pope Leo XIV opened his first international trip on Thursday with a sweeping call for unity, renewed dialogue, and a rejection of the global drift toward division and violence. Speaking in Turkey’s capital of Ankara on Nov. 27 during his formal welcome by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the pope said he hoped Turkey could be “a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples” and serve the cause of a “just and lasting peace.”
Pope Leo XIV to Focus on Christian Unity, Relations with Islam in Turkey and Lebanon
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey Thursday on his first international apostolic journey. The wide-ranging trip — spanning historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure — is expected to highlight the pope’s priorities of unity, peace, and encouragement across a region marked by both ancient faith and present suffering.
Pope Leo’s Prayer Intention for December: For Christians in Areas of War or Conflict
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for December is for Christians living amidst war or conflict, especially in the Middle East.
