By choosing to make his first trip as pope to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV will shine a huge spotlight on the faith Christians share and on the yearnings for peace and prosperity common to all people.
The main motivation for the trip 27 November – 2 December is to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which laid the basis for the Creed all mainline Christians still recite.
In Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo also will meet with government officials and is likely to praise the people of both nations for the generosity they have shown to refugees, particularly from Syria.
Lebanon has the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, and Turkey is not far behind.
Many Syrian refugees have begun returning home, but fragile – and often interrupted – peace throughout the Middle East will be on the pope’s mind during the trip, especially once he arrives in Lebanon 30 November.
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