According to Vatican sources, preparations are under way for Pope Leo XIV to travel to Lebanon and Turkey at the end of November in what would be his first trip abroad.
The two-country trip would likely last just under a week. The Vatican does not normally confirm official visits until closer to the time when it will take place.
It would mark the first foreign trip for Pope Leo XIV.
Pope Leo said in July that he hoped to visit the Turkish city Iznik for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea this year, a milestone in Church history.
A spokesman for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, confirmed he has invited the pontiff to Istanbul for an event on November to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on November 29 before traveling together to Iznik together for the anniversary of the first Nicaea council on November 30, Saint Andrew’s Day.
The trip comes at a time when Turkey, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has poor record in dealing with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. And, indeed, there are no churches in Iznik..either Catholic or Orthodox.
Vatican sources said preparations were also under way for a visit to Lebanon during the same trip…another of the world’s hot spots.