Leo XIV, the American Pope begins his pontificate in Türkiye

The trip starts on the same day A Nigerian archbishop denounced at the UN the massacres of Christians in his country, part of what many define as a slow-motion genocide in the central belt of Nigeria.

During the flight from Rome to Ankara, Robert Francis Prevost (70 years old) pointed out to the 80 media that accompany him that hopes to visit Spain soon: “There is more than hope,” he assured, before landing in what he himself defines as a land “inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity.”

The visit began with a very politically charged political exchange. “We applaud the “astute stance of the Pope on the Palestinian question”declared Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (71 years old), in the National Library of Ankara, alluding to the Leo XIV’s condemnation of the destruction of Gaza and civil suffering, in continuity with Francis’ line: explicit support for a two-state solution and respect for the status of Jerusalem, in terms of humanitarian and international law, without aligning with any specific government.

The Pope, without mentioning Gaza or Ukraine, launched a global appeal for peace and asked to abandon military logic. He advocated “renouncing the use of weapons as a way to solve problems” and “sitting together at the table, dialogue and working together for solutions,” insisting that justice and mercy, and not force, should guide development.

He rejected the “false logic” of each community locking itself into its own faith and advocated for a “culture of encounter” in the face of the “globalization of indifference.”

The trip is a test of the capacity of the first American Pope to manage Gaza, the future of Christians in the Middle East and intra-ecclesiastial tensions, and check whether it consolidates the Pope’s profile of unity or marks his own identity.

Es his first trip, but also the most significant: He leaves his comfort zone in Rome, exposes himself to the media spotlight for six days and uses papal diplomacy to intervene in the most volatile region on the planet.

Türkiye, cradle of Christianity and setting for travel

That the Pontiff begins precisely in Türkiye is no coincidence. On Friday he visits Istanbul and Nicaea (today İznik, about 200 kilometers southeast of Istanbul), where the Council of Nicaea summoned by the emperor Constantine who established the Creed and the doctrine about Christ. Leo XIV travels to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of that conclave, in a territory where Christians are today numerically marginal, but politically hypersensitive.

The current Turkish territory was also where Jesus’ disciples first received the name “Christians”: in ancient Antiochtoday Antakya, from where Saint Paul’s great mission to the Greco-Roman world begins. The apostle’s routes cross all of Anatolia from there, founding communities in cities that are now Turkish, including seven churches of the Apocalypse: Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir)Pergamum (Pergamon), Tiatira (Akhisar)Sardis (Sart)Philadelphia (Alaşehir) y Laodicea (Denizli). The first seven ecumenical councils that define Christian orthodoxy were held entirely in what is now Turkish territory, and until the bishop of MyraSaint Nicholas —legendary origin of Santa Claus—, belongs to this geography.

Added to the great biblical episodes located in the region (Abraham, Mount Ararat), the driving idea is clear: Christianity was not only born in Palestine, but is named, organized and universalized in what is now Türkiye. That is why with his visit Leo XIV emphasizes that his trip is not just a diplomatic gesture, but a return to the place where a marginal sect became a global religion, whose descendants now survive there as a tiny minority.

Continuity with Francisco

The Vatican emphasizes continuity with the pending promises of the deceased Pope Francis: celebrate the anniversary of Nicaea together with the Ecumenical Patriarchatethe spiritual and historical headquarters of the Orthodox Church centered in Istanbul, whose patriarch—that of Constantinople—is considered first among equals (first among equals) among the Orthodox bishops, with moral authority but not direct jurisdiction over the other autocephalous churches.

Man friendsGreek Orthodox leader in Istanbul, remembers precisely the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartolome i Francis to commemorate Nicaea together and emphasizes that Leo “follows in the footsteps of his predecessor” by maintaining that commitment and beginning his pontificate with this visit. He interprets the presence of the Pope alongside the Patriarch as a new stage of mutual commitment between East and West aimed at sending a message of coexistence and joint work with other ethnicities and religions, not only among Christians.

In addition to meeting with Erdoğan and Bartholomew, the Chicago Pope meets with the head of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and with the chief rabbi, an agenda that shows his openness to dialogue with Islam and Judaism.

Traumatized Christian minorities in Türkiye

If a century ago Christians represented around 20% in Türkiye, today they are barely around 0.5% of the population. His situation is extremely fragile after a succession of traumatic events: the armenian genocide (1915-17), preceded by the massacres hamidianas and the massacre of Adana; the decade of violence against Assyrians and Syriacs (1915-24) and the genocide and the expulsion of the Greeks orthodox of Anatolia, from 1914 until the Istanbul pogrom of 1955 and which lasted well into the 1960s.

Although the Turkish Constitution formally protects religious freedom, this century of discrimination, forced exile and violence leaves Christians in a position of inequality and exclusion, aggravated by the turn towards the conservative nationalism of Erdoğan’s Islamist party, the AKP. Massimiliano Palinurobishop in Istanbul, explained that although the State “defends Christians”, the prejudices of the population make daily life difficult and he trusts that the papal visit will bring greater acceptance and respect.

Erdoğan, for his part, insists on the image of a bridge country: “Turkey, at the heart of three continents, occupies a unique position between East and West, and serves as a bridge between different cultures and beliefs,” he stated. He recalled that in cities like Istanbul, Hatay, Mardin or Diyarbakir you can see “mosques, churches and synagogues side by side, which have lived here for centuries without fear or oppression”, he defended his policy of welcoming refugees and issued a warning about “Islamophobia in the West”.

Lebanon, last Christian bastion

The second stage of the trip takes Leo XIV, on Sunday, to Lebanon, a country marked by economic collapse, structural corruption and the massive emigration of young people. It is the Arab State with the highest proportion of Christians – around one third of the population— and one of the few places where they remain a central political player in the Middle East, although entire neighborhoods and parishes have emptied over recent decades.

The objective of the papal trip is to shed light on the suffering of the Lebanese people and, in particular, on the trauma of the Beirut port explosion in August 2020. The silent prayer of Leo

The visit occurs with a new political leadership in Beirut that is trying to rebuild the State and may reinforce the perception of Lebanon as the last great Christian bastion in the region and a key piece in the regional architecture after the war in Gaza. The Greek Orthodox priest Elias Karamin the Lebanese city of Kab Elias, sets the bar high for the first American Pope: “We hope that a message from the Pope will encourage and inspire Christians who still live in these lands to remain attached to it,” he says, and he trusts that his nationality will allow him to influence Donald Trump’s administration to seek peace in the region.

Apart from his meeting on Thursday with Erdoğan in Ankara, in Istanbul Leo XIV meets with Bartholomew, visits the Blue Mosque and celebrates a great mass with the Catholic minority; In Iznik the Council of Nicaea will be commemorated. During the three-day visit to Lebanon, he will meet with the authorities, patriarchs and young people, he will visit the two great Christian spiritual lungs: the sanctuary of Harissa (Our Lady of Lebanon) and the tomb of Saint Charbel, the miraculous Maronite monk, in Annaya. The visit will culminate with a silent prayer and a mass mass in the port of Beirut.