Pope Leo’s first trip will focus on ecumenical, interreligious relations

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, as well as reaffirming hopes for peace in the Middle East, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2.

The Vatican released the itinerary for Pope Leo’s first foreign trip Oct. 27.

The trip to Iznik, Turkey, site of the ancient Nicaea, initially was planned for Pope Francis. But Pope Leo, just days after his election in May, announced his intention to commemorate the anniversary with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

In his interview in July with Crux, the pope said he had requested that the celebration be broadened to include other Christian leaders because the Council of Nicaea took place “before the different divisions” in Christianity and because in the Creed “we can all still find a common profession of faith.”

Patriarch Bartholomew announced at a liturgy in Istanbul Oct. 22 that he had invited the three other patriarchs of the ancient “pentarchy” to join him and the pope for the Nicaea celebration, according to the Orthodox Times website. The heads of churches invited are: Greek Orthodox Patriarchs Theophilos III of Jerusalem, Theodore II of Alexandria and John X of Antioch.

Maronite Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batrun, Lebanon, told Vatican News Oct. 21 that while the trip to Turkey would be an important opportunity for dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the visit to Lebanon — “a country afflicted by conflicts and by economic, political and humanitarian crises” — would be an opportunity to speak about and give witness to peace on a geopolitical level.

Bishop Khairallah said Pope Francis had promised to visit Lebanon once the country had a president. Joseph Aoun, the country’s former army commander, was elected in January, ending a two-year political deadlock that left the nation without a president.

While in Lebanon, the pope will stop for silent prayer at the site of the 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut, which killed more than 200 people, injured some 7,000 others and displaced more than 300,000. Many of those killed were Christians because the port is near predominantly Christian neighborhoods.

Here is the detailed schedule of the pope’s trip released by the Vatican Oct. 27. Times listed are local, with Eastern Standard Time in parentheses.

Thursday, Nov. 27 (Rome, Ankara, Istanbul)

— 7:40 a.m. (1:40 a.m.) Departure from Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

— 12:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.) Arrival at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara. Official welcome.

— 1:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m.) Visit to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey.

— 2:10 p.m. (6:10 a.m.) Welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

— 2:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m.) Visit with President Tayyip Erdogan.

— 3:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m.) Meeting with representatives of the government, civil society and the diplomatic corps. Speech by pope.

— 5:35 p.m. (9:35 a.m.) Departure by plane from Esenboga International Airport to Istanbul.

— 7 p.m. (11 a.m.) Arrival at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul.

Friday, Nov. 28 (Istanbul, Iznik, Istanbul)

— 9:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m.) Meeting with Catholic bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated women and men, and pastoral workers at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Speech by pope.

— 10:40 a.m. (2:40 a.m.) Visit to the nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Greeting by pope.

— 2:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m.) Transfer by helicopter to Iznik.

— 3:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m.) Ecumenical prayer service commemorating the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea near the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytos. Address by pope.

— 4:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m.) Transfer by helicopter to Istanbul.

— 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m.) Private meeting with bishops in the Apostolic Delegation.

Saturday, Nov. 29 (Istanbul)

— 9 a.m. (1 a.m.) Visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul.

— 9:45 a.m. (1:45 a.m.) Private meeting with the leaders of local churches and Christian communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem.

— 3:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m.) Doxology in the Ecumenical patriarch’s Church of St. George. Greeting by the pope.

— 3:50 p.m. (7:50 a.m.) Meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew and signing of a joint declaration in the Patriarchal Palace.

— 5 p.m. (9 a.m.) Celebration of Mass in the Volkswagen Arena. Homily by pope.

Sunday, Nov. 30 (Istanbul, Beirut)

— 9:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m.) Visit and prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral. Greeting by pope.

— 10:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m.) Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St. George. Address by the pope.

— 12:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m.) Ecumenical blessing with Patriarch Bartholomew.

— 1 p.m. (5 a.m.) Lunch with Patriarch Bartholomew.

— 2:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m.) Farewell ceremony at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul.

— 2:45 p.m. (6:45 a.m.) Departure by airplane from Atatürk Airport to Beirut

— 3:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m.) Arrival at Beirut International Airport. Welcome ceremony.

— 4:45 p.m. (9:45 a.m.) Courtesy visit with President Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace.

— 5:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m.) Meeting with the president of the National Assembly.

— 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m.) Meeting with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

— 6 p.m. (11 a.m.) Meeting with representatives of the government, civil society and the diplomatic corps. Speech by pope.

Monday, Dec. 1 (Beirut, Annaya, Harissa, Bkerké)

— 9:45 a.m. (2:45 a.m.) Visit and prayer at the tomb of St. Charbel at the Monastery of St. Maroun in Annaya. Greeting by the pope.

— 11:20 a.m. (4:20 a.m.) Meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women and pastoral workers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. Speech by pope.

— 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m.) Private meeting with Catholic patriarchs in the Apostolic Nunciature.

— 4 p.m. (9 a.m.) Ecumenical and interreligious meeting in Martyrs’ Square in Beirut. Speech by pope.

— 5:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m.) Meeting with young people in the square in front of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerké. Speech by pope.

Tuesday, Dec. 2 (Jal el-Dib, Beirut, Rome)

— 8:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m.) Visit with staff and patients at De La Croix Hospital in Jal el-Dib. Greeting by pope.

— 9:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m.) Silent prayer at the site of the Beirut port explosion.

— 10:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m.) Mass at the Beirut Waterfront. Homily by pope.

— 12:45 p.m. (5:45 a.m.) Farewell ceremony at Beirut International Airport. Speech by pope.

— 1:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m.) Departure for Rome.

— 4:10 p.m. (10:10 a.m.) Arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

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