ROME – Any time a pope visits the Middle East, it’s always a balancing act of sorts, as they navigate the sensitivities of vastly diverse ethnic and religious communities in a region both historically and in the present plagued by conflict.

Pope Leo XIV will make his debut on the international stage this week precisely against this backdrop, when he visits Turkey and Lebanon from Nov. 27 – Dec. 2 to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea and to encourage populations wearied by war.

Held in what is now İznik, the Council of Nicaea took place in 325 and dismantled the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Jesus – something now recognized by Christians broadly.

The trip had initially been organized under Pope Francis but was rescheduled with his death earlier this year and the election of Pope Leo.

Highlights of the trip include a visit to İznik to commemorate the Council of Nicaea, 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.

As Pope Leo’s first international trip, the visit to Turkey and Lebanon holds great significance and great expectation in terms of how he will handle himself as a newly christened world leader stepping into arguably one of the most complex geopolitical contexts on the map.

The eyes of the world will be on Leo, who already has a reputation as a bridge-builder, watching how he chooses to engage his fellow Christian leaders, and how he will navigate local political tensions to articulate a message of peace in a region at war.

A moment of dialogue

The primary motive for Pope Leo’s visit, at its essence, is to advance ecumenical dialogue in the spirit of Nicaea with the leaders of the various Christian churches in the region, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, with whom he will sign a joint declaration.

In an apostolic letter published Sunday and titled In Unitate Fidei (“On the unity of faith”), Leo argued that the Council is still relevant today “because of its great ecumenical value” at a time when Christian unity has become a leading priority for the Catholic Church.

RELATED: Pope Leo says Council of Nicaea still has role to play for Christian unity

Ecumenism, which will be a prominent feature of Leo’s first apostolic trip, has consistently gained steam since the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, and was one of the key agenda items for Pope Francis.

After meeting national political and civil authorities of Muslim-majority Turkey, where the Christian minority faces daily discrimination, as well as local pastors of the small local Catholic flock, Leo on Friday will make a trip İznik for an ecumenical commemoration of the Council of Nicaea.

The next day he will visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, colloquially known as the “Blue Mosque” due to the color of its ornate décor, and he will hold a private meeting with leaders of the local Christian churches and communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem. Later 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.

RELATED: Schedule released for Pope Leo’s debut foreign trip to Turkey, Lebanon

On Sunday, Nov. 30, he 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.

In an interview with Vatican Media, the Vatican’s official state-run information platform, Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch said the Council of Nicaea is still relevant in modern times because it took place “at a time when Christianity had not yet been wounded by so many divisions and separations.”

“That is why the Council concerns all Christians and can be celebrated in ecumenical fellowship,” he said, noting that the belief in Jesus’s divinity is shared by all Christians.

The joint commemoration of the Council, he said, invoking Leo XIV’s papal motto In Illo uno unum, is a celebration of the fact that as members of different Chrisitan communities, “we are diverse, but we are one in Jesus Christ.”

Koch also acknowledged the role of the trip in encouraging locals living in a situation of ongoing tension and violence, saying the visit is one “of sympathy and solidarity with the difficult situations in these countries, in Türkiye as well as, especially, in Lebanon.”

“It is an encouragement for Christians – in Türkiye, Christians are a small minority.

In Lebanon, there is a diverse community of Christians…who are living in a difficult situation, both politically and economically,” he said, saying that in addition to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, “strengthening and encouraging” the Christian community is “certainly a concern of the Holy Father.”

Backdrop of war

In addition to marking the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo’s visit to Turkey and Lebanon also comes against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, which erupted following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants on Israel, prompting a retaliatory military offensive in Gaza by Israeli forces aimed at ousting Hamas from power.

So far the war has resulted in roughly 100,000 casualties, widespread risk of famine, and irreparable damage to infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.

A tenuous ceasefire was struck Oct. 10, but has been dubbed as weak at best, with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms.

E earlier this week, Israel’s military killed a senior member of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in an air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, despite an ongoing ceasefire.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated amid the Gaza war, with an exchange of fire erupting last year. A ceasefire came into effect last November, however, this week’s bombing shows the fighting is far from over.

In October Leo downplayed security concerns during an audience with King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan. In a clip that has now become viral, Rania can be heard during a photo session asking the pope if he thought it was safe to visit Lebanon, with Leo nonchalantly quipping back, “well, we’re going.”

Part of Leo’s task in Lebanon will be to encourage the internal peace process, while also consoling locals suffering from a crippling economic crisis and years of political instability.

Lebanon has long been celebrated as a success story of peaceful interfaith coexistence in the Middle East, where religious and ethnic differences can often result in conflict and discrimination.

At the level of government, Lebanon operates with a confessional system that mandates the distribution of key political roles among the various religious groups to ensure adequate representation. Under this law, Lebanon’s president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.

During his visit to Lebanon, Pope Leo will meet privately with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who was elected in January, ending a two-year stalemate. Leo will also meet privately with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who has served since Feb. 8, 2025.

Speaking during a virtual media roundtable ahead of the pope’s visit, Bishop George Bacouni, Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos, a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee for the papal visit to Lebanon, said the trip is coming at a crucial time.

“The Holy Father comes to support the mission of peace in Lebanon and in our region. His message is not only for Lebanon. It is also for all the countries around us. He reminds everyone that working for peace is urgent and necessary,” he said.

Bacouni noted that many Lebanese are suffering from the impact of a prolonged economic crisis, political and social instability, and from fear regarding the state of the country, and the war that has already breached its borders.

Additionally, the church also faces challenges such as the digital revolution, growing secularism and the decline in moral values, as well as the exodus of young families and the ongoing consequences of the 2020 Port Explosion, coupled with a growing lack of trust in church representatives.

“In this difficult moment, the Pope’s visit is a sign of hope. It shows that Lebanon is not forgotten. His presence encourages us to look for peace, to stay united, and to find strength through our faith,” Bacouni said.

“When Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict visited Lebanon, their programs did not include visits to particular places of pain or to centers caring for the most vulnerable,” whereas this time, locals find these two appointments on Leo’s schedule especially meaningful.

What the people feel, Bacouni said, is that “the pope is coming close to their wounds and close to the people who suffer the most. These two stops have a deep emotional importance for the Lebanese.”

Leo’s visit to the hospital, in particular, demonstrates the church’s attention to the most vulnerable, especially those who are weak or who suffer from any form of poverty, he said.

“This reflects the message of his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, where he asks the Church to place the poor at the center and to work for justice, dignity, and social healing,” he said.

Leo XIV in the footsteps of his predecessors – and on a tightrope

Leo XIV is the fifth pope to visit Turkey, the most recent being Pope Francis in 2014, and he is the third to visit Lebanon, after Benedict XVI in 2012.

He is stepping into each country at a critical time for the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated that Turkey is still evaluating the deployment of security forces to an International Stabilization Force being mapped out in Gaza, having pledged to monitor its implementation after declaring the war against Hamas a “genocide.”

Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide and has said it will not allow Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also facing Lebanon, and has pledged that “Israel will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power, and we will not allow it to once again pose a threat to the State of Israel.”

He urged Lebanese government “to fulfill its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.”

Aoun in response has urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt attacks and to withdraw from Lebanon, calling recent Israeli interventions a violation of last year’s ceasefire agreement.

As Pope Leo prepares to step onto the tightrope and begin his own balancing act, like many predecessors before him, this week, the stakes remain high, but Bacouni is optimistic.

During the virtual roundtable he voiced his belief that the overall impact of the pope’s visit to Lebanon will be positive and will remind the world of the role that Lebanon can play at a spiritual and cultural level, “especially our mission of living together in peace among different religions.”

“It will help us find courage, heal wounds, and work again for peace and unity,” he said.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen