CASTEL: Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday that his first foreign trip as pontiff will take him to Turkiye and Lebanon next month, a journey he described as a “historic opportunity” to promote Christian unity and deliver a message of peace to the Middle East.
The visit, scheduled for Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, will include a stop in Iznik, Turkiye, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council recognized by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The trip’s timing — on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel — adds symbolic weight to Leo’s message of reconciliation.
Unity and continuity
Speaking to reporters as he departed the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo called the anniversary “a moment of authentic unity in the faith” with Orthodox Christians, noting it was not only a time to reflect on history but to look forward.
The visit will also fulfill the late Pope Francis’ wish to travel to Lebanon, which has the highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East and remains the only Arab country led by a Christian head of state.
“I go to Lebanon to bring a message of peace and hope to a people who have suffered greatly,” Leo said, adding that he seeks to advance dialogue in a region marked by decades of conflict.
Lebanon’s fragile recovery
Lebanon is recovering from years of economic turmoil and the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah that ended last November under a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France. Although a reformist government has raised hopes of stability, Israel continues to occupy several strategic points on the Lebanese side of the border, while tensions persist over Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï welcomed the papal visit as “a sign of unity for all Lebanese, Christians and Muslims alike.” The last papal visit to Lebanon was by Benedict XVI in 2012.
Calls for peace amid tensions
The Vatican’s announcement came as Israel marked the Oct. 7 anniversary, during which its embassy to the Holy See criticized recent remarks by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomat. Parolin had denounced both Hamas’ “inhuman massacre” and what he called Israel’s “disproportionate” response in Gaza.
Leo declined to weigh in on the dispute but reiterated his long-standing call for dialogue and peace. Condemning terrorism, he cited the mounting Palestinian death toll as a “tragic reflection of how much hatred exists in the world.”
"We must reduce hatred, we must return to the ability to dialogue, to seek peaceful solutions,” Leo said.
