Pope Leo has arrived in Turkey on his first overseas go to since his inauguration in Could.
The pontiff desires to make use of the journey to push for world peace. His go to comes at a vital time in efforts to finish the warfare in Ukraine and ease Center East tensions.
Ankara has hosted rounds of low-level talks between Russia and Ukraine and has supplied to participate within the stabilisation pressure in Gaza to assist uphold the delicate ceasefire.
Leo landed within the capital metropolis on Thursday afternoon forward of a gathering with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he started a three-day itinerary in Turkey earlier than a go to to Lebanon on Sunday.
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Pope Leo and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey. Pic: Reuters
Leo, the primary American pope, selected Turkey as his first abroad vacation spot to mark the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early Church council there that produced the Nicene Creed, which lays out what stay the core beliefs of most Christians in the present day.
Chatting with journalists aboard the flight from Rome, Leo mentioned: “We hope to… announce, transmit, proclaim how important peace is throughout the world. And to invite all people to come together, to search for greater unity, greater harmony.”
The Pope was welcomed on the tarmac of Ankara’s Esenboga Airport by a army guard of honour and was greeted by a delegation led by the nation’s tradition and tourism minister.
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Pope Leo arrives in Ankara, Turkey. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters
The Pope went on to go to Anitkabir, the mausoleum of recent Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
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Pope Leo visits Anitkabir, the mausoleum of recent Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters
Leo’s Mercedes limousine then acquired a horse-mounted escort to the presidential palace, the place he was greeted by Mr Erdogan, officers and senior church members.
The pontiff praised Turkey’s historic function as a bridge between east and west and the crossroads of religions and cultures.
“May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in services of a just and lasting peace,” he mentioned.
“Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve.”
Leo, 70, was elected in Could by the world’s Catholic cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.
Francis had been planning to go to Turkey and Lebanon however was unable to go due to his worsening well being.
In a departure from regular follow, Leo is predicted to talk English in his speeches in Turkey, a rustic of greater than 85 million predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Peace can be anticipated to be a key theme of Leo’s go to to Lebanon.
The nation, which has the best proportion of Christians within the Center East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza battle.
Considerably, Leo is not going to go to Lebanon’s south, battered by final yr’s warfare between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the location of intensified Israeli strikes in current weeks.
Overseas journey has grow to be a serious a part of the fashionable papacy.
Popes can appeal to large worldwide consideration as they head occasions with crowds generally within the tens of millions, give overseas coverage speeches and conduct worldwide diplomacy.
Leo was a relative unknown on the world stage earlier than his election. He spent many years as a missionary in Peru and solely grew to become a Vatican official in 2023.
