For his first apostolic journey, Pope Leo XIV travelled to Türkiye and Lebanon, from 27 November to 2 December 2025. This inaugural visit, rich in symbolism, was placed under a threefold sign: memory, dialogue, and peace. Memory of the origins of the Christian faith; ecumenical and interreligious dialogue; and pastoral commitment to reconciliation in a wounded Middle East.
Türkiye: Nicaea, the Matrix of Christian Unity
The first stage of the journey led the Pontiff to Türkiye, a land inseparably linked to the beginnings of Christianity. Upon his arrival in Istanbul on 27 November, the Pope reminded political authorities that this region, “which is a bridge between East and West, between Asia and Europe, and a crossroads of cultures and religions,” remains a living call to “a fraternity, that recognizes and appreciates differences.” (Apostolic Journey to Türkiye: Meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps (Ankara, 27 November 2025)
The central focus of this stage was the commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the undivided Church. Prior to the journey, Leo XIV had already set its ecumenical tone with the publication, on 23 November, of the Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei. In this programmatic text, he recalled that the profession of faith formulated at Nicaea constitutes “the heart of the Christian faith” and the shared heritage of all Christians. Far from being a doctrinal relic of the past, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed remains, according to the Pope, a source of hope, communion, and responsibility for all the baptized (Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei on the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (23 November 2025).
Indeed, the most significant moment of the visit in Türkiye was undoubtedly the ecumenical prayer in Iznik, ancient Nicaea, celebrated on the remains of the Basilica of Saint Neophytos, on Friday, 28 November. Alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, patriarchs of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and numerous Protestant communities, the Pope commemorated the foundational event of 325. All proclaimed together the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. In his address, the Bishop of Rome recalled that the Nicaean Christological confession already binds all Christians together and urges them to overcome divisions through mutual love and dialogue. The faith in the one Father necessarily calls believers to universal fraternity, rejecting the “use of religion for justifying war, violence, or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism. Instead, the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and cooperation.” (Apostolic Journey to Türkiye: Ecumenical Prayer service near the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos in İznik (28 November 2025)
Other highlights of the Turkish stage of the apostolic journey included a respectful visit to the Blue Mosque; a meeting with leaders of the local Churches and Christian communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem; the signing of a joint declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Patriarchal Palace; a prayer visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral; the Pope’s participation in the Divine Liturgy presided over by Bartholomew I at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George; the large Mass celebrated at the Volkswagen Arena with several thousand faithful in attendance; as well as numerous pastoral and charitable encounters (Apostolic Journey of His Holiness to Türkiye and Lebanon with Pilgrimage to İznik (Türkiye) on the occasion of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (27 November – 2 December 2025).
Lebanon: Hope, Coexistence, and Reconciliation
In spiritual and geographical continuity with Türkiye, the Lebanese stage of the journey (30 November – 2 December) unfolded another dimension of the same message: hope at the heart of fragility. Welcomed in Beirut, the Pope met with political authorities and Catholic patriarchs, underlining Lebanon’s unique role as a historical laboratory of religious coexistence.
On 1 December, Leo XIV travelled to Annaya to pray at the tomb of Saint Charbel Makluf, a figure of holiness venerated worldwide, before meeting clergy and pastoral workers at Harissa, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon. He then took part in an ecumenical and interreligious gathering in Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, followed by an encounter with young people at Bkerké, the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate.
In his address during the interreligious gathering, the Pope echoed the inspiration of Nostra Aetate and Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, recalling that dialogue among Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Druze does not rest primarily on political considerations, but on theological and spiritual foundations. With particular force, he evoked the imagery of Lebanon’s cedars and olive trees, symbols of righteousness, fruitfulness, reconciliation and peace, a vocation to be embodied by the Lebanese people (Apostolic Journey to Lebanon: Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square (1 December 2025).
The pilgrimage to the site of the Beirut port explosion, the visit to Jal el-Dib Hospital, and the large Mass celebrated on 2 December along the seafront, gave the visit a profoundly pastoral tone. Leo XIV both marvelled at the beauty of Lebanon celebrated in Scripture and lamented that it has been overshadowed by the many problems marking the nation’s recent history: “poverty and suffering (…) the fragile and often unstable political context, the dramatic economic crisis (…) the violence and conflict that have reawakened ancient fears.” Only by disarming hearts, he insisted, can the dream of a glorious and united Lebanon, founded on peace, justice, and fraternity, be restored. (Apostolic Journey to Lebanon: Holy Mass at the “Beirut Waterfront” (Beirut, 2 December 2025)
A Future Journey to Africa
During the press conference aboard the return flight to Rome, Pope Leo XIV spoke of possible destinations for future apostolic journeys. Africa emerged as a privileged horizon, with a particularly meaningful mention: Algeria (Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon: Pope Leo XIV’s press conference on the flight from Istanbul to Beirut (Papal Flight, 30 November 2025). While nothing has yet been decided, as the Pope himself emphasized, the intention expressed is already rich in historical and ecclesial significance. The Augustinian Pontiff shared his desire to visit the places where Saint Augustine, “a son of the land,” once lived. A major figure of universal Christianity, deeply rooted in ancient North Africa, a great national and cultural figure, Augustine is respected in Algeria beyond confessional boundaries, he emphasized. For Leo XIV, this recognition opens both a symbolic and concrete space to “build bridges” between the Christian and Muslim worlds.
By looking toward a possible future journey to Africa, the Pope gestures not merely toward a continent of recent evangelization, but toward one of the intellectual and spiritual cradles of Christianity, where foundational figures such as Augustine of Hippo, Tertullian, and Cyprian of Carthage emerged, alongside the rich spiritual and theological tradition of the Church of Egypt, centered in Alexandria, which spread as far as Nubia in today Sudan and Axum in present-day Ethiopia. The very fact that Africa is envisaged as a next destination indicates a pontificate attentive to the Global South and to the deep historical roots of African Christianity.
By Christian Kombe, SJ
Jesuit School of Theology | Hekima University College
