Overview
- Trip set for November 27–December 2, with Turkey first (Nov. 27–30) followed by Lebanon (Nov. 30–Dec. 2).
- In Turkey, León XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea with ceremonies in Iznik.
- The pope will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, visit Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, and celebrate Mass at the Volkswagen Arena.
- In Lebanon, the program includes a meeting with President Joseph Aoun, an interreligious encounter, a waterfront Mass in Beirut, and a prayer at the 2020 port explosion site.
- The published schedule omits southern Lebanon and Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, reflecting security and political sensitivities around those locations.