Pope Leo arrives in Turkey in a close-up view of the overseas tour

Pope Leo arrived in Turkey on his first visit outside Italy as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday and is expected to make appeals for peace in the Middle East and appeal for unity among the divided Christian churches.

The first US Pope specifically chose Muslim Turkey as his first overseas destination for the 1,700-site Landmark Feramer Feral Church where he produced Nicene Christians, still used by Christians in the world today.

Leo arrived in the capital of Ankara on Thursday for what is a one-off trip to Turkey, before going to Lebanon. It will be widely watched as he makes his first speeches abroad and visits important cultural sites.

In a country where less than one percent of the population is Christian, the pope’s visit is seen as an attempt to build bridges and bring a message of peace to the Middle East.

Pope Francis, who visited Turkey in 2014, planned to visit the country, as well as Lebanon, but could not go because of his poor health.

“Pope Francis was well-liked in Turkey. He was seen as a compassionate and intelligent person with a strong side of humanity,” said Canan Tercan, associate professor of political science and international relations at Istanbul Aydın University.

He said the fact that Leo has shown the same values ​​is encouraging, and he hopes he can play a bigger role in allowing peace.

“The Vatican is not an institution concerned with individual worship, but also a strong organization with a mission of social peace and justice.”

Papal trips abroad draw worldwide attention

Turkish and Vatican flags flew above the cockpit as Leo was pulled back from the plane, greeted by Turkey Driket led by culture and tourism.

Speaking to reporters entering the papal hills from Rome, Leo said he wants to use his first trip to promote peace in the world and encourage people of different backgrounds to live together in harmony.

“We hope to … announce, announce, announce that peace is the most important thing in the world,” the pope said at the start of the three-hour flight. “And to invite all people to come together, to seek greater unity, greater harmony.”

Foreign Travel has become a major part of the modern papacy, with popes attracting international attention as they lead events with crowds sometimes in the millions, give foreign policy speeches and conduct foreign policy talks.

“It’s a very important trip because we don’t know much yet about geopolitical views, and this is the first big chance for them to make it clear,” Spimo Faggioli, who studied the Vatican, told Reuters.

Meeting with the President of Turkey, the Orthodox Patriarch

Leo was appointed in May by the cardinals of the Catholic world to succeed the late Pope Francis. Relatively unknown on the world stage before His election, Leo spent decades as a missionary in Peru and became an official in 2023.

Leo, 70, was scheduled to meet President Repep TayDoğan and address political leaders in the Turkish capital.

He will fly Thursday evening to Istanbul, home of Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 260 million orthodox Christians.

East-West Christians are 1054, but they have often inherited each other in recent decades to form close bonds.

Leo and Bartholomew went on Friday to Iznik, 140 kilometers southeast of Istanbul and once called Nicaea, where the first churches began the Nicene beliefs, which preserve what remains the important beliefs of many Christians today.

In a departure from normal practice – popes tend to speak Italian on foreign trips – Leo is expected to speak English for his speeches in Turkey.

When he flew to Ankara, two journalists presented the American pope with a pumpkin, which is the basis of the US Thanksgiving holiday that took place on Thursday.

Turkey is a major regional power and Erdoğan has played a major role in geopolitical affairs beyond its borders.

Erdi ozturk, a A senior lecturer in politics and international relations at London Metropolitan University, said Turkey’s political situation is “full of people” and it is not certain that the Pope’s visit will gain much.

“Turkey has been suffering from economic conditions,” he told CBC News in an interview.

Then there are all the problems of the whole world that Ankara is very involved in, said Ozturk.

“Turkey has been trying to create a long-lasting lasting peace between the PKK and the Turkish people,” he said, referring to the Kurdish Supatist militant group. “Turkey has been busy in Syria, Turkey has been dealing with Gaza, Turkey is trying to play a role in the negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia.”

When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Kyai called for Victoria to play an official role as a mediator. In a letter, Ukrainian President VolOdymyr Zesenskyy asked the Vatican to help discuss the return of children taken to Russia during the war.