Pope Leo tells Journalists his Türkiye–Lebanon Visit is ‘A Message of Unity and Peace’

On the papal flight to Ankara, Pope Leo XIV greeted more than 80 journalists, who presented him with gifts including a baseball bat, photographs from his missionary years, and a pumpkin pie. He described his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon as a mission aimed at fostering peace and unity.

“To the Americans here: Happy Thanksgiving!” Pope Leo XIV said, smiling and waving as he appeared from behind the curtain separating the sections of the papal plane, roughly twenty minutes after departing from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

“It’s a wonderful day to celebrate, and I want to begin by saying thank you to each and every one of you for the service that you offer to the Vatican, to the Holy See, and to my person, but also to the whole world,” he told the group of over eighty journalists travelling to Ankara, the first stop of his inaugural Apostolic Journey, which will take him to Türkiye and Lebanon from 27 November to 2 December.

“It’s so important today that the message be transmitted in a way that really reveals the truth and the harmony that the world needs,” he continued. “In a special way, this particular trip to Türkiye and to Lebanon has, first of all, the very meaning of unity, celebrating 1,700 years from the Council of Nicaea.”

Although he travelled extensively as Prior of the Augustinians, this visit marks his first time in both countries. The Pope said he was eager for the journey because of its significance for Christians and for the wider world in promoting peace.

“In a special way, the presence of myself, of the Church, of believers in both Türkiye and in Lebanon, we hope to also announce, transmit, and proclaim how important peace is throughout the world and to invite all people to come together to search for greater unity and greater harmony and to look for the ways that all men and women can truly be brothers and sisters, in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs.”

He expressed his hope that everyone can “be a part of promoting peace and unity throughout the world,” and once again thanked the journalists for their work and “for being part of this historic moment.”

Laughs, gifts and jokes

There was clear excitement among the journalists representing media outlets worldwide. Reporters, videographers, and photographers greeted him with phones, microphones, and cameras raised, many standing or leaning across seats for a better view.

Valentina Alazraki, a veteran Mexican journalist who has travelled on more than 163 papal flights since her first trip with Pope John Paul II to Mexico in 1979, welcomed the Pope on behalf of the entire press corps. She presented him with a Byzantine-style icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “for a Pope from North America but with a Latin American heart.”

Pope Leo then greeted each journalist individually, navigating the narrow aisle with handshakes, jokes, laughter, and photos. Many offered gifts: a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and a set of slippers and socks from his favourite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox.

Another reporter presented a baseball bat—an heirloom belonging to Nellie Fox, a well-known American player from the 1950s. “How did this pass security?” Pope Leo XIV joked. One journalist gave him two framed collages with photos from his childhood and missionary years.

A particularly moving gift came from Eva Fernández, correspondent for the Spanish radio network COPE. She handed the Pope a letter written by Ignacio Gonzálvez, a 15-year-old who attended the Jubilee of Youth in August and has since been hospitalised at the Holy See’s Children’s Hospital with aggressive lymphoma.

The Pope had asked the faithful to pray for the young man during his meeting with youth at Tor Vergata in Rome this summer, and later visited the teenager and his family in hospital. Ms Fernández also gave him the coat of arms of her Spanish ancestors.

Another journalist offered the Pope a parchment from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Kharkiv, expressing gratitude for the support he has given to Ukrainians suffering due to the war. When speaking with a journalist of Algerian origin, he told her he hopes to visit the country.

Arriving in Türkiye

After a short flight, Pope Leo landed in Ankara at 12:22 PM local time, beginning the first leg of his opening Apostolic Journey.

He was received with an official ceremony at Esenboğa International Airport, following greetings on the plane from the Apostolic Nuncio and the country’s Chief of Protocol.

After arriving in the capital, Ankara, the Holy Father proceeded to the Atatürk Mausoleum, the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first President of the Turkish Republic.

He is scheduled to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before addressing Turkish authorities, civil society representatives, and diplomatic officials. Later in the day, he will fly from Ankara to Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city.

The motto of the trip to Türkiye is “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” underscoring the mission of nurturing fraternity and dialogue between East and West.

Source: Vatican News