Pope Leo XIV Kicks Off First Foreign Trip with Visit to Türkiye

Pope Leo XIV is set to visit Türkiye on Thursday for his first foreign trip, following the late Pope Francis' plans to commemorate an important Orthodox anniversary and deliver a message of peace to the region. The visit comes at a crucial moment for efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease tensions in the Middle East.

Leo is arriving first in Ankara, where he has a meeting planned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a speech to the country’s diplomatic corps. He’ll then move on to Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith meetings that will be followed by the Lebanese leg of his trip, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Leo’s visit comes as Türkiye, a country of more than 85 million people of predominantly Sunni Muslims, has cast itself as a key intermediary in peace negotiations for the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Ankara has hosted rounds of low-level talks between Russia and Ukraine and has offered to take part in the stabilization force in Gaza to help uphold the fragile ceasefire, engagements Leo may applaud in his arrival speech.