Leon XIV went to Turkey. Just before 8 a.m. Airbus 320neo of Italian ITA airlines with Pope on board took off from the Roman Fiumicino airport to Turkey's capital Ankara. The motto of the visit—the first abroad journey of his pontificate—is: “One Lord, 1 faith, 1 baptism.”
The main intent of the papal visit is the 1700th anniversary of the Council in good (today's Iznik), during which the foundations for the ecumenical confession of religion were laid, as well as participation in the Orthodox celebration of St Andrew. From 27 to 30 November, Leon XIV will be staying in Turkey, and from there he will go to Lebanon, where he will spend almost 3 days.
The Holy Father arrived at Fiumicino Airport just after 7. Prior to boarding the plane, he briefly spoke with Bishop Gianrico Ruzza, the average of the Diocese of Porto-Santa Rufina, whose jurisdiction is Fiumicino global Airport.
The aircraft will fly over Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey during 2 hours and 50 minutes of flight. After crossing 1930 km, the landing is scheduled at 12:30 local time at Ankara/Esenboga global Airport.
Along with the Pope, respective twelve people, including journalists, photographers, producers, cameramen and technicians of various nationalities, are flying.
The first day of the apostolic journey Leon XIV will spend in Turkey's capital Ankara. After welcoming to the airport, the Pope will go to Atatürk Mausoleum – 1 of the most crucial places in the past of modern Turkey, where the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is buried. On that day, the Holy Father will besides meet president Tayyip Erdogan, representatives of the authorities and civilian society and diplomatic corps. He's going to Istanbul tonight.
On Friday, Leon XIV will meet with the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul and then go to Iznik – the site of the good Council, where he will participate in an ecumenical prayer meeting.
The next day, the pope will meet with the leaders of churches and Christian communities and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I. After the afternoon he will celebrate Mass at the local stadium. On Sunday, he will visit the Armenian Cathedral and participate in the solemn liturgy in the Orthodox Cathedral of St. George.
Leon XIV is the 5th bishop of Rome of modern times, who goes to Turkey. Before him were there: Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979, Benedict XVI in 2006 and Francis in 2014.
Source: KAI, PAP
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