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Leo is fulfilling a trip the late Pope Francis planned to make
Nicole Winfield,Serra Yedikardes,Suzan FraserThursday 27 November 2025 07:50 GMTComments
open image in galleryPope Leo XIV waves as he boards a plane in Rome's Fiumicino airport on his way to a six-day trip to Turkey and Lebanon (Associated Press/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Pope Leo XIV embarks on his first foreign trip this Thursday to Turkey, fulfilling late Pope Francis’ plans to mark a key Orthodox anniversary and bring peace amid crucial efforts for Ukraine and Mideast.
Arriving first in Ankara, he will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and address the diplomatic corps.
He then moves to Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith meetings, ahead of the Lebanese leg of his trip.
The pontiff’s visit comes as Turkey, a nation of over 85 million predominantly Sunni Muslims, acts as a key intermediary in Ukraine and Gaza peace negotiations.
Ankara has hosted Russia-Ukraine talks and offered to join a Gaza stabilisation force to uphold the fragile ceasefire, efforts Pope Leo may applaud.
Reaction in Turkey
Turkey's increasing military might, boasting NATO's second-largest army after the US, is drawing Western leaders closer to President Erdogan.
This engagement persists despite critics raising alarms over his government's suppression of the country's main opposition party.
While support for Palestinians and an end to the conflict in Ukraine is prevalent across Turkey, the nation's citizens are primarily focused on a severe cost-of-living crisis.
open image in galleryMany residents are looking forward to seeing Pope Leo visit Turkey (Associated Press/Francisco Seco)This economic turmoil, largely stemming from domestic political instability, means international affairs remain a secondary concern for many Turks.
That could explain why Leo's visit has largely escaped the attention of many in Turkey, at least outside the country’s small Christian community.
“I didn’t know he was coming. He is welcome,” said Sukran Celebi. “It would be good if he called for peace in the world, but I don’t think it will change anything."
Some said they thought the visit by history’s first American pope was about advancing the interests of the United States, or perhaps to press for the reopening of a Greek Orthodox religious seminary that has become a focal point in the push for religious freedoms in Turkey.
“If the pope is visiting, that means America wants something from Turkey,” said Metin Erdem, a musical instruments shop owner in the touristic Galata district of Istanbul.
Historic anniversary
The main impetus for Leo to travel to Turkey is to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council.
Leo will pray with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, at the site of the 325 AD gathering, today’s Iznik in northwestern Turkey, and sign a joint declaration in a visible sign of Christian unity.
open image in galleryMuslims pray at the Ottoman-era Sultan Ahmed or Blue Mosque, in Istanbul ahead of the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Turkey (Associated Press/Francisco Seco)Eastern and Western churches were united until the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope.
While the visit is timed for the important Catholic-Orthodox anniversary, it will also allow Leo to reinforce the church’s relations with Muslims. Leo is due to visit the Blue Mosque and preside over an interfaith meeting in Istanbul.
Asgın Tunca, a Blue Mosque imam who will be receiving the pope, said the visit would help advance Christian-Muslim ties and dispel popular prejudices about Islam.
“We want to reflect that image by showing the beauty of our religion through our hospitality — that is God’s command,” Tunca said.
Religious freedom in Turkey
Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan’s government has enacted reforms to improve the rights of religious groups, including opening places of worship and returning property that were confiscated.
Still, some Christian groups face legal and bureaucratic problems when trying to register churches, according to a US State Department report on religious freedoms.
open image in galleryTurkey Pope Leo Visit (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)The Catholic Church, which counts around 33,000 members in Turkey, has no formal legal recognition in the country “and this is the source of many problems,” said the Rev. Paolo Pugliese, superior of the Capuchin Catholic friars in Turkey.
“But the Catholic Church enjoys a rather notable importance because we have an international profile ... and we have the pope holding our backs,” he said.
Possible tensions
One of the more delicate moments of Leo's visit will come Sunday, when he visits the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul.
The cathedral has hosted all popes who have visited Turkey since Paul VI, with the exception of Francis who visited Turkey in 2014 when its patriarch was sick.
Francis visited him at the hospital, and a few months later he greatly angered Turkey in 2015 when he declared that the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was “the first genocide of the 20th century.” Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, recalled its ambassador to the Holy See in protest.
Leo has tended to be far more prudent than Francis in his public comments, and using such terms on Turkish soil would spark a diplomatic incident. But the Vatican is also navigating a difficult moment in its ties with Armenia, after its interfaith overtures to Azerbaijan have been criticized.
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