ROME – The Vatican on Tuesday officially confirmed Pope Leo’s first papal trip to Turkey and Lebanon at the end of November and beginning of December, a trip that could have significant implications for his agenda on Gaza.

In an Oct. 7 statement, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV will make an Apostolic Journey to Türkiye from Nov. 27-30, which will include a pilgrimage to İznik, formerly known as Nicaea, to commemorate 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.

He will then travel to Lebanon from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, though no details about what cities he will visit were announced. The full itinerary of the trip, the Vatican said, will be published “in due course.”

Originally scheduled in May as a trip to be taken by Pope Francis, the visit to Turkey for the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea was postponed due to Francis’s death and the conclave that elected his successor, Pope Leo.

In early centuries the Christian community was sharply divided over a debate about whether Jesus could be both fully human and fully divine. The matter was settled during the Council of Nicaea, held in what is now Iznik, in Turkey, in 325.

Francis had planned Turkey to celebrate the anniversary of the council alongside his longtime friend and interlocuter, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In an exclusive interview with Crux Senior Correspondent for her new biography of him, León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, Pope Leo confirmed his plans to visit Turkey, but at that point Lebanon was not on the table.

He spoke of the importance the trip would hold for the church’s ecumenical relations, saying, “One of the deepest wounds in the life of the Church today is the fact that as Christians we’re divided.”

“I speak about building bridges; sometimes it’s easier to build bridges with people who aren’t Christian than it is with our Christian neighbors. There are things that separate us, there are things that keep us from all being united with authentic communion in what we believe,” the pope said.

In this spirit, the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on ecumenism “has to be one of the goals of the Church today.”

Leo said that he invited not only Patriarch Bartholomew to participate in the trip, but also the leaders of a variety of Christian communities and denominations, “because Nicaea is a Creed, it’s one of the moments that before the different divisions took place, we can all still find a common profession of faith.”

The pope said that in this regard, ecumenism and the fostering of unity among Christians “is a priority.”

His visit to Turkey and Lebanon, however, will also be his first official state visit as a world leader, and will therefore, it also carries significant weight in terms of his geopolitical agenda in the Middle East, especially as regards the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Since his election to the papacy, Pope Leo has called for peace in Gaza in nearly every public audience and address, appealing for the release of Israeli hostages, for access to humanitarian aid, and for the cessation of hostilities.

The war still risks escalating into a full-blown regional conflict, with the ongoing involvement of third parties, including Iran and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

In his interview with Crux’s Elise Ann Allen, Leo stopped short of calling the two-year conflict a genocide himself, but noted that many in the international community, including various human rights organizations, have already done so.

Leo in his interview with Allen lamented that despite the efforts that have been made at negotiation and talk of ceasefires, “there has not been a clear response in terms of finding effective ways to alleviate the suffering of the people, the innocent people in Gaza, and that is obviously of great concern.”

“It’s going to be very difficult because some of the people, especially children, when people go into not only deprivation but of actual starvation, just to receive food doesn’t immediately solve the problem,” he said, noting that the people suffering on the ground are going to need “a lot of help,” including medical assistance and basic aid.

He noted, “The word genocide is being thrown around more and more,” but said the Holy See is not yet ready to make an official declaration in this regard.

Whether this position will change prior to or during his visit to Turkey and Lebanon remains to be seen, but whatever message he will deliver from these venues – especially given the influence Turkey carries in ongoing negotiations – will have strong reverberations throughout the international community.

“It’s just so horrible to see the images that we see on television, hopefully something will turn this around. Hopefully we won’t grow numb,” the pope said in his interview with Allen.

He added, “I think certainly human beings, and as a Christian response, we can’t grow numb, and we can’t ignore this. Somehow, we have to continue to push, to try and make a change there.”

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen