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Pope Leo XIV is embarking on the first apostolic journey of his papacy to Turkey and Lebanon from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. Follow here for live updates of his historic trip:
Pope Leo XIV departs from Rome on Thursday morning for his first international apostolic journey. The six day trip will include visiting Turkey and Lebanon. | Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV will depart from Rome on Thursday morning for his first international apostolic journey. The wide-ranging trip — spanning historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure — is expected to highlight the pope’s priorities of unity, peace, and encouragement across a region marked by both ancient faith and present suffering.
The papal plane will take off at 7:40 a.m. from Fiumicino Airport, bound for Turkey’s capital, Ankara, where the Holy Father is scheduled to receive an official welcome at Esenboğa International Airport.
The city of Tyre, in southern Lebanon, has been bombed several times by the Israeli armed forces. | Credit: Shutterstock
The upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon comes as a new wave of Israeli bombings have shaken several towns near the southern border.
“We have been experiencing continuous attacks like this for almost two and a half years. But we have never evacuated, we have never left our village,” said Maronite parish priest Father Tony Elias from the border village of Rmeich, a Christian village located just a few meters from Israel.
Rmeich, he explained, is one of the largest Christian villages in southern Lebanon. “We cannot leave, because if we did, there would be no one to rebuild, no one to protect our village,” he said in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
Catholic faithful in Lebanon welcome Pope Benedict XVI during his visit in 2012. | Credit: Philippe Abou Zeid via Elie Baroud
Anticipation is building across Lebanon as the country prepares to welcome Pope Leo XIV. The visit is not without precedent, however. Lebanon has received two other popes in recent history — John Paul II in 1997 and Benedict XVI in 2012. Both trips are remembered as milestones in a nation marked by conflict and resilience.
As preparations intensify, many of those who witnessed previous papal visits are reflecting on their impact and the memories they carry — memories that shape expectations for what Pope Leo’s visit may bring.
ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, has the story here.
The Church of the Holy Savior in Chora in Istanbul, Turkey. | Credit: G Da, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
With the countdown underway for Pope Leo XIV’s first official journey outside Italy, excitement is building across Turkey’s Christian and wider faith communities. Ahead of the historic visit, EWTN News spoke with several individuals who shared their hopes, expectations, and reflections on what the pope’s presence could mean for the country.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff is a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Washington, D.C., and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at editors@catholicna.com with questions.
