Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday his upcoming visit to Türkiye and Lebanon would mark a historic step toward Christian unity and deliver a message of peace and hope to Lebanon and the wider Middle East.
Leo outlined the trip, announced by the Vatican Tuesday, during an encounter with reporters as he left the papal country estate south of Rome.
Leo will travel first to Türkiye from Nov. 27-30, then Lebanon from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. The trip to Türkiye will include a pilgrimage to Iznik to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity's first ecumenical council.
The anniversary is an important moment in Catholic-Orthodox relations, since the 325 A.D. Nicea meeting predates the schisms that divided Christianity’s East from West and is accepted by Catholic and Orthodox churches alike.
Leo told reporters as he left the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday that the anniversary offered "a moment of authentic unity in the faith” with Orthodox Christians, "a historic moment not to look back but to look forward.”
