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Pope Leo XIV He is scheduled to make his first trip abroad next month, with important visits planned beirut And turkeyPope will pray at the site The devastating 2020 port explosion in BeirutAn event that tragically took the lives of more than 200 people and exacerbated Lebanon’s deep economic and political crisis.
Vatican On Monday, Pope Francis confirmed the itinerary for the Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 visit, highlighting several key moments for the first American Pope in history. In addition to offering solace in Lebanon, the trip will see him travel to Turkey to celebrate with Orthodox Christians the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s foundational ecumenical council.
This historic journey is set to address important topics of interreligious and ecumenical relations, the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and broader regional tensions. In view of this, this journey holds special significance Pope Francis Especially expressed a strong desire to visit both the countries lebanonBut it was put on hold due to the ongoing instability in the country before his death earlier this year.
Leo had made clear from the beginning of his pontificate that he would maintain Francis’ commitment, and he has planned several moments of prayer with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians.
Nicaea, located today on a lake in Iznik, southeast of Istanbul, is one of seven ecumenical councils recognized by Eastern Orthodoxy. Leo will fly there by helicopter on November 28 for a brief prayer near the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytes.
In addition to traditional protocol visits with Turkish and Lebanese leaders, meetings with Catholic priests and religious leaders, Leo’s visit to the site of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020 will likely be another encouraging moment in his trip, which is approaching its final day.
An explosion rocked the Lebanese capital after hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in a warehouse. The massive blast killed at least 218 people, injured more than 6,000 and devastated large parts of Beirut, causing billions of dollars in damage, according to AP calculations.
Lebanese citizens were outraged by the explosion, which appeared to be the result of government negligence, on top of an economic crisis stemming from decades of corruption and financial crimes. But the investigation into the cause of the blast repeatedly stalled, and even after five years no officials have been convicted.
While Leo will celebrate Mass on the Beirut coast and visit some areas near the Lebanese capital, his itinerary is notable for places he is not visiting: He will not visit Lebanon’s south, which was hit last year by war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
While the brunt of the destruction was focused on Shia communities who were Hezbollah’s main base of support, Christian communities were also affected by the conflict, with their homes, agricultural land, and even churches destroyed. Christian groups in southern Lebanon had lobbied for the Pope to visit the region.
In Türkiye, there are no plans for Leo to visit the historic Hagia Sophia monument in Istanbul as previous popes did. The former Greek Orthodox Patriarchal Basilica, which was a mosque during the Ottoman period, was a museum when Pope Francis visited in 2014.
But Türkiye in 2020 President Recep Tayyip ErdoganThe government changed its status from a museum back to a mosque and opened it for Muslim worship. At the time, Francis said he felt “deeply saddened” by the decision.
Despite renovations to preserve its historic domes, the Hagia Sophia remains open to visitors and worshippers. Leo will visit the nearby Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque.