Overview
- The pope departs Nov. 27 for Ankara, Istanbul and İznik to mark 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, then continues to Lebanon from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.
- A meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is on the schedule in Türkiye, while officials say broader attendance at the events is not yet finalized.
- Cardinal Kurt Koch says the observances aim to deepen shared faith in Jesus as Son of God and to bear public witness to Christian unity.
- Koch frames the journey as encouragement for small and struggling Christian communities in Türkiye and Lebanon, with attention to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
- On Nov. 23 the pope issued the Apostolic Letter 'In Unitate Fidei,' a 12-point call for renewed profession of the Nicene Creed and common prayer for unity.