Ankara, Turkey
—
Pope Leo XIV wished Americans a happy Thanksgiving on board his papal plane and thanked journalists for their work as he traveled to Turkey for his first foreign visit.
Leo arrived in Ankara on Thursday for a six-day trip which includes Lebanon, where he is expected to emphasize the key themes of his fledgling pontificate.
“To the Americans here, happy Thanksgiving,” the first American pope said as he greeted reporters flying from Rome.
Leo thanked journalists “for the service that you offer,” adding that “it’s so important today that the message be transmitted in a way that really reveals the truth and harmony that the world needs.”
His visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Leo said, is focused on “unity” and “peace,” and “to look for the ways all men and women can surely be brothers and sisters in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs.”
Leo is visiting two countries with a majority Muslim population but that are home to ancient Christian communities. His visit to Beirut comes several days after bombing by Israel’s military on the Lebanese capital.
On board the plane, Leo greeted each of the roughly 80 journalists on board individually, including CNN, after receiving gifts of two pumpkin pies and a pecan pie, traditional Thanksgiving desserts. As he received the dishes, Leo said he planned to share some of the pumpkin pies.
Among the other gifts presented to the pope were a baseball bat once used by Nellie Fox, the legendary Chicago White Sox baseball player – which is Leo’s team – and some White Sox slippers and socks.
Leo, a keen Wordle player, recently revealed that he opts for a different starter word of the popular online puzzle game each day. When asked by the Associated Press how he had got on today, Leo said he had completed the puzzle in three attempts.
Before he circulated among reporters, the pope was also greeted by Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki, whose first papal flight was in 1979 with John Paul II. Alazraki stressed that although Leo might feel like he’s going into the lion’s den by meeting journalists he had “nothing to fear.” She presented him with an icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe, beloved by Catholics from across North and South America.
The first day of Leo’s trip will see him lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum, the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey; meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; and address political and civic leaders at the presidential palace. Afterwards he is due to visit the Diyanet, the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Turkey, and meet the country’s chief rabbi. He will depart Ankara for Istanbul later Thursday.
Although a constitutionally secular state, Turkey has a predominantly Muslim population and is home to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is considered the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church and has his headquarters in Istanbul.
Leo is due to meet with him on Friday and take part in celebrations of an important church landmark: the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which formulated core Christian beliefs. The celebrations are taking place in modern-day Iznik, northwestern Turkey, where the council was held in 325 AD.