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Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered for the Mass for the Jubilee of Catechists on Sept. 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV will visit Turkey and Lebanon in the first apostolic journey of his pontificate, to take place from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, the Vatican announced Tuesday. 

During the six-day papal trip, the Holy Father will visit the Turkish city of Iznek to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, an ecumenical milestone in Church history which led to the formulation of the Nicene Creed. 

Leo will be the fifth pope to visit Turkey. Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis visited the Middle Eastern nation in 2014 to strengthen the Church’s interreligious dialogue with Orthodox and Muslim leaders. 

The last papal visit to Lebanon was made by Pope Benedict XVI from Sept. 14-16, 2012, more than one year after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. 

According to a 2024 UNHCR report, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometre in the world, including approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees. 

This story is developing.

This article was originally published by CNA.

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Kristina Millare

Kristina Millare is a freelance journalist with a professional communications background in the humanitarian aid and development sector, news journalism, entertainment marketing, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.

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