Pope Leo begins his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday with a visit to Turkey, where he is expected to make appeals for peace in the Middle East and urge unity among long-divided Christian churches.
The first U.S. Pope chose mainly Muslim Turkey as his first overseas destination to mark the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early Church council there that produced the Nicene Creed, still used by most of the world’s Christians today.
Leo, who has a crowded three-day itinerary in Turkey before heading on to Lebanon, will be closely watched as he makes his first speeches overseas and visits sensitive cultural sites.
