Pope Leo XIV Begins First International Trip, Calls for Peace and Christian Unity

By Staff, Agencies

Pope Leo XIV departed Rome on Thursday morning for Turkey, launching his first international trip since becoming head of the Catholic Church.

His visit, centered on appeals for peace in West Asia and reconciliation among Christian denominations, marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea — the gathering that produced the Nicene Creed, a cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

Turkey, a majority-Muslim nation, is the Pope’s first stop on a three-day tour that will include meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul.

On Friday, the two religious leaders are set to travel to Iznik (ancient Nicaea), highlighting the Vatican’s renewed push to bridge the divide between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, which have been formally split since 1054.

Leo XIV, 70, was elected in May to succeed the late Pope Francis. Before his rise, he spent decades as a missionary in Peru and later joined the Vatican’s administrative ranks, but he remained relatively unknown globally.

His first foreign journey is widely seen as a window into his geopolitical approach. “This is the first major opportunity to understand Leo’s foreign policy priorities,” Vatican scholar Massimo Faggioli told Reuters.

In an unusual protocol shift, the Pope is delivering his speeches in English rather than Italian.

Following his Turkey tour, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Lebanon on Sunday, carrying a message of peace to a country with the highest concentration of Christians in the Middle East and a long history of interfaith coexistence.