Pope Leo to visit Turkey, Lebanon on first trip abroad as pontiff, appeal for peace

By Reuters 27 October 2025, 2:47 pm

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Pope Leo XIV gestures as he attends the Jubilee Mass for the Missionary World and Migrants at St Peter's Square in The Vatican on October 4, 2025. (Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

Pope Leo will visit eight towns and cities in Turkey and Lebanon later this year, the Vatican says, his first trip outside Italy as pontiff, and he is expected to make appeals for peace across the region.

Leo, the first American pope, will visit Turkey from November 27 to 30 and then will be in Lebanon from November 30 to December 2.

Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis had planned to visit both countries but was unable to go because of his worsening health. Francis died on April 21 and Leo was elected as the new pope on May 8 by the world’s cardinals.