Pope Leo picks Turkey and Lebanon for first foreign tour

Preparations are under way for Pope Leo XIV to travel to Lebanon and Turkey at the end of November in what would be his first trip abroad, Vatican sources said.

The two-stage trip would likely last just under a week. The Vatican does not normally confirm official visits until closer to the time.

It would mark the first foreign trip for the US-born pontiff since he became head of the world’s Catholics in May.

Leo said in July that he hoped to visit the Turkish city Iznik for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea this year, a milestone in Church history.

A spokesman for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, confirmed he has invited the pontiff to Istanbul for an event on November 29.

They would then travel to Iznik together for the anniversary of the first Nicaea council on November 30, Saint Andrew’s Day.

Vatican sources said preparations were also under way for a visit to Lebanon during the same trip.

Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, head of Lebanon’s Maronite church, said in a television interview in August that the pontiff would visit the country “by December.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who is a Maronite Christian, extended the invitation while visiting the Vatican in June.

The last pope to visit multi-faith Lebanon was Benedict XVI in September 2012.

Pope Francis visited Turkey in 2014 and had hoped to return for this year’s Nicaea commemorations, but cancelled the trip due to ill-health.