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Pope Leo will make his first trip outside the Vatican, heading to Turkey and Lebanon

2025-11-27 08:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Pope Leo will make his first trip outside the Vatican, heading to Turkey and

Nearly seven months after his election as pope, Leo XIV undertakes his first trip abroad. This trip, from November 27 to 30, stops in Turkey and ends in Lebanon on December 2.

The head of the Catholic Church, who is originally from the US, is thus continuing the international commitment of his predecessor. Today, the travel program is a natural part of the exercise of the pontificate and "it is unthinkable without it," Augsburg-based church historian and papal expert Jörg Ernesti told DW.

It is awaited with interest what emphasis Leo will place on his first trip and how he will eventually distinguish himself from his predecessors. In Turkey, the head of the Catholic Church will visit the capital Ankara and Istanbul. He will also travel to Iznik, about 100 km to the southeast, where the first world council of all churches met 1,700 years ago.

In Lebanon, visits to Beirut and several pilgrimage sites in the north of the country are on the program. At the end of his trip, Pope Leo will hold a silent prayer at the port of Beirut, the very place where in the summer of 2020 a terrible explosion with pesticides and explosives occurred that destroyed an entire neighborhood, about 200 people lost their lives and the entire country was shaken by this disaster.

Many Christians once lived in Turkey and Lebanon

The two countries share one thing in common: A hundred years ago, Christians made up a significant portion of the population in both countries. In Turkey, about a third of the population belonged to a church, while in Lebanon more than half the population. Today, in Turkey, less than one percent of the population is Christian, while in Lebanon, 30 percent.

Turkey, excluding Italy, is the first country in the world to have hosted five popes. This is partly due to the fact that the Asian part of Turkey has important traditions of early Christian history and is also home to some of the first Christian communities.

In Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the head of Orthodoxy still has his seat, currently held by the 85-year-old Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. His church has suffered for decades from restrictions imposed by the Turkish state.

Leo goes - just like his predecessors Pope John Paul II (1979), Benedict (2006) and Francis (2014) - with full awareness at the end of November to Istanbul. November 30 is the feast of the Apostle Andrew, who is as important to Orthodoxy as the Apostle Peter is to Western Christians.

"Restriction of religious freedom"

In Turkey, according to church historian Ernesti, "there are restrictions on freedom of belief." This primarily affects the Greek Orthodox Church, which has been "significantly annihilated" since the expulsion of the Greeks from Constantinople and Asia Minor 100 years ago. The Ecumenical Patriarch is limited in his activity.

For more than 50 years, the Orthodox seminary on the island of Chalki in the Sea of ??Marmara near Istanbul has been closed by state decree. According to Ernest, the Catholic Church cannot operate freely either.

The visit is being awaited with interest, as it is the pope's first visit to a predominantly Muslim country. "Many people in the Islamic world, especially in Turkey, feel honored that the pope's first trip abroad is dedicated to their country," Jesuit Felix Körner tells DW.

Lebanon, a country with many religions

Lebanon is also an important stage of this papal journey. Traditionally, this country is characterized by the coexistence of many religious faiths. There is no state religion in Lebanon. Today, more than 60 percent of the Lebanese are Sunni and Shiite Muslims, about 30 percent are Christians of various churches. Alongside them, there are also Druze and Alevis. Hezbollah, supported by Iran, is a powerful factor in power and political unrest.

The political system is clearly defined proportionally, dividing it between representatives of different religions, explains expert Ernesti. Therefore, the Vatican considers Lebanon "as an experimental field for the functioning of coexistence between people of different religious beliefs."

If people in a "multi-religious country" do not interact, this leads to instability. The whole community benefits from positive cooperation. In its current state, Lebanon is for Leo XIV "a difficult travel destination."

Referring to the Christian-Islamic dialogue, Jesuit Körner believes that Leo, in a different way from his predecessor Francis, will continue to pursue his course of rapprochement with Islam.

"Pope Francis' approach was one of friendship," says Körner. He emphasized sympathy and advanced by living the exchange and good relations with Muslim actors. This also characterized his trip to the Islamic world, as well as his visit to Abu Dhabi in 2019, where the document appreciated worldwide for mutual understanding was signed.

Pope Leo, while having similar priorities, hopes and worldviews as Francis, says Körner, is different in style: "more structured, more careful, more reasonable." "Leo is a church jurist. That's very good. He will revitalize and create sustainable structures for growing understanding between Muslims and Christians." /DW