ROME – Pope Leo XIV will make his very first international trip in a month’s time, traveling to both Turkey and Lebanon in a highly symbolic visit that will feature key speeches to national authorities and poignant moments of prayer and ecumenical dialogue.

Highlights on the schedule include a visit to İznik, where the first Council of Nicaea took place in 325, as well as a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I with the signing of a joint declaration, and a visit to the Port of Beirut, where a massive explosion killed nearly 220 people and left thousands of others injured in 2020.

The pope’s Nov. 27 – Dec. 2 visit to Turkey and Lebanon was originally planned to take place with Pope Francis earlier this year to mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, however, it was rescheduled after Francis’s death.

After departing from Rome’s Fiumicino airport early Nov. 27, Pope Leo will arrive in Ankara, where he will take part in an official welcome ceremony, meet privately with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and address national civil authorities and the diplomatic corps.

That speech will mark his first public address during a foreign trip, and the fact that it will be in Turkey means his words will carry a special weight for both Catholics and political leaders in the region as the war in Gaza risks escalating further into a broader, regional conflict.

Pope Leo will then fly to Istanbul, where the next day, on Friday, Nov. 28, he will meet with the bishops, clergy, religious and pastoral workers in Turkey.

He will then visit a nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor before taking a helicopter to İznik for an ecumenical prayer service and commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

That evening, after returning to Istanbul, he will meet privately with bishops who are part of the apostolic delegation.

On Sat. Nov. 29, Pope Leo will visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and later that morning will hold a private meeting with leaders of the local Christian churches and communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem.

Later that afternoon he will join other Christian leaders in praying the Doxology, a traditional hymn of praise to God, before meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew and signing a joint declaration with him.

Leo XIV will then conclude the day celebrating Mass in Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena.

The next morning the pope will visit the Armenian apostolic cathedral before praying the divine liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George. An ecumenical blessing will take place, and Leo will then have lunch with Patriarch Bartholomew before concluding his trip to Turkey.

Leo will fly to Lebanon after his lunch with Bartholomew Nov. 30, landing at Ataturk Airport just before 4p.m. local time, where he will travel to the presidential palace for a courtesy visit to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has been in office since Jan. 9, 2025.

He will then hold separate private visits with the president of Lebanon’s National Assembly and its Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, before speaking with national civil authorities and the diplomatic corps.

Like his speech to authorities in Turkey, Leo’s words to Lebanese authorities will also carry significant weight, especially in light of Lebanon’s involvement in the Gaza war, with fears increasing that renewed tensions between Israel and Hezbollah forces could escalate into a fresh round of violent conflict.

After meeting with Lebanese authorities, Leo the next day, on Monday, Dec. 1, will pray at the tomb of Saint Charbel Makluf in the Saint Maroun Monastery in Annaya before meeting with Lebanese bishops, clergy, religious and pastoral workers.

He will then meet privately with Catholic patriarchs before holding an ecumenical and interreligious encounter that afternoon. He will conclude the day with a meeting with young people.

Leo’s last day in Lebanon will begin with a visit to the staff and patients of the De La Croix Hospital in Jal Ed Dib before he makes his way to the site of the 2020 port explosion in Beirut for a moment of silent prayer.

The pope will then celebrate Mass before bidding farewell and boarding his flight back to Rome, during which he is expected to deliver his first in-flight press conference with journalists on board.

Pope Leo appealed for peace on his first day as pope and has continued to call for peace in Gaza and throughout the Middle East since his election in May, meaning the theme of peace will likely be a prominent aspect of the message he seeks to deliver when visiting the Middle East next month.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen