Pope Leo's First Trip to Focus on Ecumenical, Interreligious Relations
Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon in November to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, and to reaffirm hopes for peace in the Middle East.
The Vatican released the itinerary for Pope Leo's first foreign trip in October. The trip was initially planned for Pope Francis, but Pope Leo announced his intention to commemorate the anniversary with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople just days after his election in May.
The Council of Nicaea took place "before the different divisions" in Christianity and because in the Creed "we can all still find a common profession of faith.
Pope Leo requested that the celebration be broadened to include other Christian leaders. Patriarch Bartholomew announced the plans at a liturgy in Istanbul in October.
The trip will focus on ecumenical and interreligious relations, with a visit to Iznik, Turkey, the site of the ancient Nicaea.