HIBAPRESS
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Ankara on Thursday afternoon, at the beginning of an official four-day visit to Turkey, his first foreign trip since assuming the papacy, at a time when the Middle East region is witnessing significant tensions.
The papal plane landed at 12:20 local time, and he was received by Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. He also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and is scheduled to give a speech before government officials, representatives of civil society, and the diplomatic corps, before heading to Istanbul in the evening. The Pope told accompanying journalists that this trip was anticipated for the meanings it carries for Christians, stressing that it is a message of peace and unity for the world, and wished American citizens a "Happy Thanksgiving." In Ankara, the Pope visited the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and a symbol of Turkish secularism. The following day takes on a religious character, by celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council in Nicaea in 325 AD, with the participation of about 300 bishops from the Roman Empire. On the banks of Lake Iznik, the Pope participates in an ecumenical prayer with priests from the Orthodox churches, at the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, in a step that reflects the efforts of dialogue between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church.
