Pope Leo has arrived in Turkey on his first foreign visit since his inauguration in May.
The pontiff wants to use the trip to push for world peace. His visit comes at a crucial time in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Middle East tensions.
Ankara has hosted rounds of low-level talks between Russia and Ukraine and has offered to take part in the stabilisation force in Gaza to help uphold the fragile ceasefire.
Leo landed in the capital city on Thursday afternoon ahead of a meeting with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he began a three-day itinerary in Turkey before a visit to Lebanon on Sunday.
Leo, the first American pope, chose Turkey as his first overseas destination to mark the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early Church council there that produced the Nicene Creed, which lays out what remain the core beliefs of most Christians today.
Speaking to journalists aboard the flight from Rome, Leo said: “We hope to… announce, transmit, proclaim how important peace is throughout the world. And to invite all people to come together, to search for greater unity, greater harmony.”
The Pope was welcomed on the tarmac of Ankara’s Esenboga Airport by a military guard of honour and was greeted by a delegation led by the nation’s culture and tourism minister.
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The Pope went on to visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Leo’s Mercedes limousine then received a horse-mounted escort to the presidential palace, where he was greeted by Mr Erdogan, officials and senior church members.
The pontiff praised Turkey’s historic role as a bridge between east and west and the crossroads of religions and cultures.
“May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in services of a just and lasting peace,” he said.
“Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve.”
Leo, 70, was elected in May by the world’s Catholic cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis.
Francis had been planning to visit Turkey and Lebanon but was unable to go because of his worsening health.
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In a departure from normal practice, Leo is expected to speak English in his speeches in Turkey, a country of more than 85 million predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Peace is also expected to be a key theme of Leo’s visit to Lebanon.
The country, which has the highest percentage of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza conflict.
Significantly, Leo will not visit Lebanon’s south, battered by last year’s war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the site of intensified Israeli strikes in recent weeks.
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Foreign travel has become a major part of the modern papacy.
Popes can attract huge international attention as they head events with crowds sometimes in the millions, give foreign policy speeches and conduct international diplomacy.
Leo was a relative unknown on the world stage before his election. He spent decades as a missionary in Peru and only became a Vatican official in 2023.
