First papal voyage to Turkey and Lebanon confirmed
Pope Leo will make his highly anticipated first voyage as pope at the end of November, in a trip replete with significance
VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Pope Leo XIV will make his first international journeys at the end of next month, traveling to both Turkey and Lebanon.
Confirmation from the Holy See Press Office came Tuesday, as the Vatican announced the first two apostolic voyages of the new pontificate.
Accepting, customarily, the invitation of the head of state and the local ecclesial authorities, Leo XIV will make an Apostolic Journey to Turkey from November 27 to 30, including a pilgrimage to İznik marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
He will then make an Apostolic Journey to Lebanon from 30 November to 2 December.
Full details of the itinerary will be released closer to time by the Vatican, and both parts of the voyage had already been much anticipated in recent weeks.
As the first journey of the new Pope, there will be much speculation and observation about every aspect, with the meetings and speeches on this initial voyage likely to indicate the key themes Leo will wish to emphasize during his papal reign.
Postponed Nicaea voyage
Pope Francis had been reportedly due to undertake a trip to Turkey in May for the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The planned voyage was anticipated to be rich in ecumenical significance, with many hoping for a breakthrough in relations – for while Francis was personally friendly with the Patriarch, similar warmth among the Eastern Orthodox faithful was not so widely found.
Following the Argentinian pontiff’s death, the trip was postponed, but rearranging it was made a priority in the earliest days of Leo’s reign. Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I met with Leo twice in less than two weeks in May, following which the Patriarch declared that the two had agree Leo would visit Turkey at the end of November.
Leo himself signaled his own desire to make such ecumenical endeavors a key part of his pontificate, when on May 18 he told ecumenical delegates at the Vatican: “I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Following the Great Schism of 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church broke communion with the See of Rome, though in recent decades renewed endeavors have been in place to attempt a healing of the rift. This includes the annual custom of delegations visiting the respective sees for their patronal feasts of St. Peter and Paul on June 29 in Rome, and of St. Andrew on November 30 for the Eastern Orthodox in Istanbul.
Though the Eastern Orthodox sacraments are valid, the church does not accept papal primacy.
A mutual declaration of excommunication between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople was withdrawn at the close of the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras.
Lebanon and the Middle East
In late August, the local Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rai told Saudi media that the Pope would likely visit by December. Rai’s comments indicate the priority that planning such a voyage was afforded in the earliest weeks of Leo’s reign, given that he was so certain of the trip even by August 20.
Catholics in Lebanon – which is a predominantly Muslim country – have not received a papal visit since Benedict XVI’s September 2012 journey. Pope Francis had been due to visit but a much talked about voyage never materialized.
Since Benedict’s visit, the country has been rocked by neighboring warring nations along with the influx of refugees from both Syria and Palestine. Given also Lebanon’s proximity to Israel, it is highly likely that the Papal voyage will feature references to the ongoing conflict and could even provide an occasion for unofficial meetings aimed at fostering peace in the region.
In this light, it will be notable to see the schedule of Leo’s visit to Lebanon, along with the religious and political delegates present at each of his appointments.