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<p>Pope Leo XIV’s first official papal trip from Nov. 27-Dec. 2 to Turkey and Lebanon has just ended. The wide-ranging international visit included historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure. Pope Leo highlighted the importance of unity, peace and fraternity, and brought encouragement to a region marked by ancient faith and present suffering.</p>
<p>Here are some of the most powerful moments from Pope Leo’s trip:</p>
<p><b>Turkey</b></p>
<p>Upon landing at the Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Pope Leo was greeted by Turkish authorities and members of the military. Outside of the Presidential Palace, the pontiff was welcomed by a cavalry escort, the playing of the national anthems, and 21 cannon shots.</p>
<p>The Pope commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on Nov. 28 alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and other Christian leaders in the Turkish city of Iznik, southeast of Istanbul, the site of the Council of Nicaea, historically known as the birthplace of the Nicene Creed.</p>
<p>The ecumenical prayer service took place at the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus, built in 380 at the site of the first Christian ecumenical council, which was convened by Emperor Constantine I in 325.</p>
<p>While in Istanbul, Pope Leo visited the Nursing Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, telling the community that Christian charity begins not with doing but with being — i.e., living a real communion with those one serves.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV visits a care home for the elderly run by a community of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 28, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/popeleonursinghome.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV visits a care home for the elderly run by a community of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 28, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>Later that day, Pope Leo met the “little flock” of Catholics at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Catholics in Turkey make up roughly just 0.05% of the country’s 85 million people. The Pope encouraged them to rediscover what he called the Gospel’s “logic of littleness” and not to be discouraged by their tiny numbers but to recognize in them the strength of authentic Christian witness.</p>
<p>In another touching moment at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, a young child eagerly awaited and received the blessing of the Holy Father:</p>
<p>Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew I gave a joint ecumenical blessing from the balcony of the patriarchate following the Orthodox Divine Liturgy on Nov. 30. The joint blessing recalls the fraternity and communion between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I give a joint blessing from the balcony of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, following an Orthodox Divine Liturgy on Nov. 30, 2025. Credit: Elias Turk/EWTN News" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/leo-bartholomew-elias-turk.jpeg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I give a joint blessing from the balcony of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, following an Orthodox Divine Liturgy on Nov. 30, 2025. Credit: Elias Turk/EWTN News</p>
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<p><b>Lebanon</b></p>
<p>Ahead of his second day in Lebanon, a stunning rainbow appeared over the Port of Beirut, the site of the explosion that devastated the area in 2020.</p>
<p>Pope Leo XIV became the first pope in history to visit the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf when he arrived at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya on the second day of his apostolic journey to Lebanon.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV reflects on the enduring message of St. Charbel Makhlouf at the hermit's tomb at the Monastery of St. Maron, in Annaya, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/ris5206.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV reflects on the enduring message of St. Charbel Makhlouf at the hermit&#8217;s tomb at the Monastery of St. Maron, in Annaya, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>In another beautiful moment, Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to the Virgin Mary during his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV presents a Golden Rose to Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/popeleogoldenrose.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV presents a Golden Rose to Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon, on Dec. 1, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>A little girl proudly showed off a rosary given to her by Pope Leo during the Pope’s meeting with bishops, clergy, and religious at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.</p>
<p>On the final morning of his trip to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV paused before the ruins of the Beirut port explosion, praying in silence and placing a wreath in memory of the victims. In one of the most emotional moments of his trip, he also met family members of those killed and survivors still carrying the wounds of the Aug. 4, 2020, blast.</p>
<p>Five years after the explosion, one of the largest nonnuclear blasts in history, families of the 236 people killed and more than 7,000 wounded say they are still waiting for truth and accountability.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV prays in silence at the site of the 2020 port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: AIGAV Pool" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/whatsapp-image-2025-12-02-at-9.07.34-am.jpeg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV prays in silence at the site of the 2020 port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: AIGAV Pool</p>
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<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV greets a young child at the site of the Aug. 4, 2020, blast at the Port of Beirut on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/sim0530.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV greets a young child at the site of the Aug. 4, 2020, blast at the Port of Beirut on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>After visiting the site of the explosion, Pope Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 150,000 people at the Beirut Waterfront. </p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for an estimated 150,000 people at Beirut's Waterfront in Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/popeleomasslebanon.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for an estimated 150,000 people at Beirut&#8217;s Waterfront in Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>While visiting the De La Croix Hospital in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Pope Leo also spent time in the Saint-Dominique wing, where children with severe physical and mental disabilities are cared for, and blessed the children.</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV blesses a child at the De La Croix Hospital for the mentally disabled in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/ris4806.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV blesses a child at the De La Croix Hospital for the mentally disabled in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<p>From there, Pope Leo boarded the papal plane for Rome, telling the Lebanese people: “Leaving this land means carrying you in my heart.”</p>
<div class="embed-block"><img alt="Pope Leo XIV waves goodbye to those in attendance at a farewell ceremony at the International Airport of Beirut in Lebanon on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media" class="img-fluid" src="https://admin.catholicnewsagency.com/images/popeleoleaveslebanon.jpg"/></p>
<p class="embed-block__description">Pope Leo XIV waves goodbye to those in attendance at a farewell ceremony at the International Airport of Beirut in Lebanon on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-leo-xiv-s-trip-to-turkey-and-lebanon-recap">Source link </a></p>
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