Pope Leo XIV set off for his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon on Thursday, arriving in Ankara for the first leg of his visit. The trip is being seen as an opportunity to strengthen relations between those of the Christian and Muslim faith. The primary focus is to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea Christianity's first ecumenical council that produced the Nicene Creed that is still used by most of the world's Christians today.
Pope Leo has embarked on his first foreign trip as Catholic leader with a visit to two Muslim-majority countries of Turkiye and Lebanon, where he is expected to make appeals for peace in the Middle East, ravaged by conflicts, and urge unity among long-divided Christian churches. The pontiff, who has a crowded three-day itinerary in Turkiye starting on Thursday, before heading on to Lebanon, will be closely watched as he makes his first speeches overseas and visits sensitive cultural sites.
