Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to arrive in Türkiye on Thursday for his inaugural visit to a country known as the home of historic events and sites for Christianity. The pontiff’s first apostolic journey abroad will later take him to Lebanon.
His visit will start in the capital Ankara, with a visit to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of modern Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a tradition upheld by heads of state on official visits to Türkiye. It will be wrapped up in Istanbul, reportedly with a visit to the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
The highlight of the visit, however, will be Iznik, a small town in the province of Bursa of northwestern Türkiye, which is more familiar to the Christian community with its ancient name: Nicaea. There, the pontiff will attend events for the 1,700th anniversary of the council that shaped modern-day Christianity to a large extent. The council, which took place in A.D. 325 at the request of Emperor Constantine, was a pivotal gathering in Christian history where crucial theological issues were debated
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