Pope Francis completed the first leg of his journey abroad as pontiff Friday, traveling to turkey amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and a growing humanitarian crisis.
The trip, which began Thursday, centers on the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea – a pivotal moment in Christian history – and offers an opportunity for the Pope to address issues of Christian unity and migration within a predominantly Muslim nation. The Pope’s visit also comes as the Catholic Church actively promotes interfaith dialog and the easing of tensions in the region.
Pope Francis met Friday with Christian leaders from across the Middle East in Turkey, marking his first trip abroad since becoming head of the Catholic Church. The visit comes as the pontiff seeks to foster unity among divided Christian denominations and address the challenges facing Christians in the region.
The Pope, who assumed his position in May, arrived in Turkey on Thursday and is expected to call for unity among Christian denominations that have been split for centuries.
Pope’s Visit to Turkey Focused on Historic Council
The pontiff is attending a commemoration in Turkey marking the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, where a foundational statement of Christian belief – the Nicene Creed – was established. The creed remains central to the faith of most of the world’s approximately 2.6 billion Christians.
Friday’s observance is the primary reason for Pope Francis’s four-day trip to Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation. During the visit, he will deliver his first speeches outside the Vatican and interact with people outside of Catholic-majority Italy for the first time as pope.
On Friday, Pope Francis traveled to İznik, located 87 miles southeast of Istanbul, where church officials originally formulated the Nicene Creed, defining core beliefs for much of Christendom today.
He was joined by Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of approximately 260 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, as well as other Christian leaders from countries including Turkey, Egypt, and Syria.
Despite a schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches in 1054, relations between the two have generally strengthened in recent decades.
Pope Meets with Turkish Catholics
Earlier Friday, Pope Francis met with members of Turkey’s small Catholic community. Participants chanted “Long live the Pope” at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Istanbul.
Vatican statistics indicate that Turkey is now home to around 33,000 Catholics among a population of approximately 85 million. The country was once a thriving center for Christianity and the birthplace of prominent saints like Philip, Paul, and John.
The Pope urged Catholics to avoid seeking political influence, stating they should focus on assisting migrants in Turkey, which hosts nearly four million foreigners, including around 2.4 million Syrians, as well as migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.
Pope Francis, 70, has made caring for migrants a priority and has frequently criticized former U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The Pope has a busy schedule planned during his six-day trip abroad.
Foreign trips have become a key component of the papacy in modern times, attracting global attention through gatherings that sometimes draw millions, speeches addressing foreign policy, and international diplomatic initiatives.
