Pope Leo has announced his first international trip. Image: Maria Grazia Picciarella/Shutterstock via The Guardian.
(The Post News)– In November, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon, marking his first papal international trip. The Pope will be appealing for peace in the troubled Middle East.
The Vatican spokesperson, Matteo Bruni, announced the Pope’s travels, saying that Leo accepted the invitations of the heads of state and religious officials in Lebanon and Turkey. The pope is anticipated to discuss the hardships faced by Christians throughout the Middle East and make a plea for peace.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Pope Leo expressed optimism that a plan to stop the conflict between Israel and Gaza will soon achieve “desired results.” Since Israel’s July attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic church, leaving three people dead and ten others injured—including the parish priest—Leo’s work in promoting peace in Gaza has gained increasing attention.
According to Bruni, Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the 260 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, will meet with Pope Leo during his Turkey visit to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of a significant early church council that was held in Nicaea, which is now in Iznik. Moreover, Bruni asserted that in due time, the plan of action for the apostolic trip to Lebanon will be disclosed.
Pope Leo Follows in Pope Francis’ Steps
The late Pope Francis had intended to travel to both countries; thus, Leo’s trip gives Christians and Muslims a symbolically significant gesture. Francis’s visit to Lebanon and Turkey was halted because of his poor health. Pope Francis made over 40 trips overseas, and he traveled to Corsica for his last trip in December 2024, marking a first visit by a pope to the French Mediterranean.
One of Francis’s riskiest visits was to Iraq, where he later disclosed that he had survived a double suicide bombing after British Intelligence and Iraqi police stopped an assassination attempt against him. He further revealed that he had been strongly cautioned against traveling since Covid continued to rage and security threats were great, particularly in Mosul, a northern city destroyed by Islamic nation extremists; however, he was committed to going.
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