At the start of a six-day trip to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo urged Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict, warning a third world war was being “fought piecemeal” with humanity’s future at stake.
“May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace,” said Leo, without referring explicitly to the Gaza or Ukraine conflicts, which have both included Turkey as a mediator.
Speaking to Turkey’s diplomatic corps and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex in Ankara, Leo, who is on his first trip outside Italy as pope, praised Turkey’s historic role as a bridge between East and West, at the crossroads of religions and cultures.
“Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve,” said Leo, standing in front of a giant globe at a library in the complex.
Leo, who in May became the first American to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, said “ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace” were destabilizing the world. He warned of “a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fueled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power.”
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
Speaking before the pope, Erdogan said that he welcomed the pope’s “astute stance” on the Palestinian issue, and hoped the visit would be beneficial for humanity at a time of tension and uncertainty.
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara, Turkey, November 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
In September, Leo met President Isaac Herzog at the Vatican and discussed the “tragic situation” in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel following the Hamas onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Leo’s visit comes as Turkey, a country of more than 85 million people of predominantly Sunni Muslims, has cast itself as a key intermediary in efforts to end the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Ankara has hosted rounds of talks with Russia and with Ukraine. It has also offered to take part in the stabilization force in Gaza to help oversee the fragile ceasefire there, though Israel rejects Turkish participation because of Turkey’s support for Hamas, including hosting some of its senior officials.
Leo didn’t cite either conflict specifically, but he quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, in lamenting that the wars ravaging the world today amount to a “third world war fought piecemeal,” with resources spent on armaments instead of fighting hunger and poverty and protecting creation.
Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, April 13, 2025. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
After two world wars, “we are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level,” Leo said. “We must not give in to this! The future of humanity is at stake.”
Francis, who led the global Church for 12 years, had been planning to visit Turkey and Lebanon but was unable to go because of his worsening health.
Speaking to reporters on the three-hour flight to Turkey, Leo acknowledged the historic nature of his first foreign trip and said he has been looking forward to it because of what it means for Christians and for promoting peace in the world.
“And to invite all people to come together to search for greater unity, 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 said.
The pope shared some light-hearted moments with reporters, noting that Thursday was Thanksgiving in the United States.
Pope Leo XIV wishes Americans ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ as he greets journalists traveling with him aboard the papal plane bound for Ankara at the start of his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye.https://t.co/08vdNe3GQK pic.twitter.com/M27sVIW2jg
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) November 27, 2025
“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!” he said to the 80 or so reporters who were traveling aboard the papal plane. “It’s a wonderful day to celebrate.”
At least two journalists presented Leo with pumpkin pies for the holiday. He was also gifted a baseball bat once owned by legendary White Sox player Nellie Fox, and a pair of White Sox-branded slippers and socks.
The latter gift was a reference to Leo’s quip last week that he only wears white socks, a play on words about his beloved Chicago baseball team.
A word about valuing women
Leo’s speech in Ankara was closely watched, since the first speech of any pope trip sets the tone for his visit. That’s all the more true for this first trip abroad for the first American pope, who will be delivering all his remarks in Turkey in English in a departure from the Italian-centric Vatican. It was thus significant that Leo also commented Thursday on the plight of women in Turkey.
“Women, in particular, through their studies and active participation in professional, cultural and political life, are increasingly placing themselves at the service of your community and its positive influence on the international scene,” Leo said.
“We must greatly value then the important initiatives in this regard, which support the family and the contribution that women make toward the full flowering of social life.”
Pope Leo XIV walks as he is welcomed by a military honor guard upon his arrival at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, November 27, 2025, marking the beginning of his first foreign trip. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Women’s rights activists continue to denounce Erdogan’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark European treaty signed in Istanbul in 2011 to protect women from violence. Critics say the move weakened safeguards.
According to the advocacy group We Will Stop Femicide, 237 women have been killed in Turkey so far in 2025, most by husbands, partners, or relatives, while another 247 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances.
This week, Erdogan unveiled a new five-point plan to combat violence against women, including promoting a culture of respect, strengthening legal protections and rehabilitating perpetrators.
Historic anniversary
Leo will fly on Thursday evening to Istanbul, home to Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians.
Orthodox and Catholic Christians split in the East-West Schism of 1054, but have generally sought in recent decades to build closer ties.
Leo and Bartholomew will travel on Friday to Iznik, 140 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Istanbul and once called Nicaea, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, an unprecedented gathering of at least 250 bishops from around the Roman Empire.
Pope Leo XIV visits the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara, Turkey, November 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
It happened at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united. They split in the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope.
The visit will also allow Leo to reinforce the church’s relations with Muslims. Leo is due to visit the Blue Mosque and preside over an interfaith meeting in Istanbul.
Asgın Tunca, a Blue Mosque imam who will be receiving the pope, said the visit would help advance Christian-Muslim ties and dispel popular prejudices about Islam.
“We want to reflect that image by showing the beauty of our religion through our hospitality — that is God’s command,” Tunca said.
Visit to Lebanon to start Sunday
Peace is expected to be a key theme of the pope’s visit to Lebanon, which starts on Sunday.
Lebanon, which has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel has escalated airstrikes on Lebanon in recent weeks, accusing Hezbollah of rebuilding in violation of a ceasefire last November that ended over a year of violence, including two months of open warfare. On Sunday, Israel killed Hezbollah’s military leader in an airstrike on the Iran-backed terror group’s south Beirut stronghold.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of El Mahmoudiyeh on November 27, 2025. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Monday that necessary security precautions were being taken to ensure Pope Leo’s safety in Lebanon. Bruni would not comment on specifics.
Leaders in Lebanon, which hosts 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees and is also struggling to recover after years of economic crisis, are worried Israel will dramatically escalate its strikes in the coming months, and hope the papal visit might bring global attention to the country.