The Vatican on Monday released the full program for Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey, which will take him to Turkey and Lebanon from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2.
The trip will center on two key moments: a pilgrimage to İznik (ancient Nicaea) to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea and a visit to the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf in Lebanon.
The Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 by Emperor Constantine, was a turning point in Christian history. It produced the original formulation of the Nicene Creed — later adopted as the universal profession of faith — and set out to unify the date of Easter across the Church.
Turkey: Honoring Christian unity and dialogue
The pope will depart from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on Thursday, Nov. 27, arriving in Ankara at midday. Following an official welcome, he will visit the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, and meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and members of civil society and the diplomatic corps.
That evening, he will travel to Istanbul.
On Friday, Nov. 28, the Holy Father will begin the day with prayer alongside bishops, priests, deacons, and pastoral workers at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. Later, he will visit a home for the elderly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.
In the afternoon, he will travel by helicopter to İznik for an ecumenical prayer gathering near the ruins of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus, recalling the First Council of Nicaea, which affirmed Christ as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
Back in Istanbul that evening, the pope will meet privately with the country’s bishops.
Saturday’s schedule includes visits to the Blue Mosque and the nearby Hagia Sophia, symbols of interreligious dialogue and Christian heritage. He will meet privately with leaders of other Christian Churches at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem, then join Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I for a doxology and the signing of a joint declaration at the Patriarchal Church of St. George.
The day will conclude with Mass at the Volkswagen Arena, where the pope will deliver his homily.
Lebanon: Prayer at St. Charbel’s tomb and solidarity with a wounded nation
On Sunday, Nov. 30, the pope will visit the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul before departing for Beirut. There he will be welcomed by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun — elected in January after more than two years of political stalemate — and meet with other national leaders.
Lebanon’s confessional political system, established by the 1943 National Pact and reaffirmed in the 1989 Taif Agreement, reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian, the premiership for a Sunni Muslim, and the parliamentary speakership for a Shiite Muslim.
On Monday, Dec. 1, Pope Leo will travel to Annaya to pray at the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf, the 19th-century Maronite monk venerated for his holiness and miracles. Later that morning, he will meet with clergy and pastoral workers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa and with the Catholic patriarchs at the apostolic nunciature.
That afternoon, he will join an ecumenical and interreligious gathering in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square and meet with young people outside the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerké.
The final day of the trip, Tuesday, Dec. 2, will begin with a visit to De la Croix Hospital in Jal ed Dib, followed by a moment of silent prayer at Beirut’s port, the site of the devastating 2020 explosion.
Pope Leo will celebrate the closing Mass of his journey at the Beirut Waterfront before returning to Rome, where he is scheduled to arrive at 4:10 p.m. local time.
This article was originally published on ACI Prensa and translated by Catholic News Agency.
