Pope Leo XIV begins first foreign trip in Türkiye, visits Anıtkabir, calls nation a “bridge” for fraternity between Christians, Muslims, Jews.
Newsroom (27/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) Pope Leo XIV launched his inaugural Apostolic Journey abroad on Thursday with a powerful appeal for fraternity across religious and cultural divides, describing Türkiye as “a land that beckons humanity to fraternity” and a natural bridge between continents, traditions, and peoples.
Moments after landing at Ankara Esenboğa International Airport and receiving an official welcome, the Holy Father proceeded directly to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the modern Republic of Türkiye. Accompanied by a high-level delegation including a government minister, the Vice-Governor of Ankara, and the Mausoleum Commander, Pope Leo signed the Golden Book of Honour.
In the guestbook he wrote: “I give thanks to God for being able to visit Türkiye, and I invoke upon this country and its people an abundance of peace and prosperity.”
Anıtkabir, comprising the Road of Lions, Ceremonial Plaza, Hall of Honour – where Atatürk’s tomb lies – and surrounding Peace Park, is the most potent symbol of Turkish secular republican identity. It also houses the tomb of İsmet İnönü, Türkiye’s second president, buried opposite Atatürk in 1973.
Later in the morning, Pope Leo addressed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a gathering of authorities, civil society representatives, and the diplomatic corps at the Presidential Nation’s Library.
Speaking beneath the emblem of his journey – an image of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge spanning the Dardanelles – the Pope presented Türkiye’s geographical and historical position as prophetic in an age of global polarisation.
“Türkiye stands as a bridge joining Asia and Europe,” he said, “but even more profoundly it connects east and west, tradition and modernity, difference and unity.”
Warning that “uniformity would be an impoverishment,” Pope Leo insisted that authentic social vitality is preserved precisely through respectful encounter with diversity. He praised the country’s Christian minority for its willingness to contribute to national unity, quoting St. John XXIII – who served as Apostolic Delegate in Türkiye from 1934 to 1944 – and his call for a “culture of encounter” that rejects isolation.
Turning to the Gospel, the Holy Father described God Himself as the ultimate bridge-builder who, in the Incarnation, created a permanent passage between heaven and earth. Justice and mercy, he stressed, must prevail over the logic of domination, while technological progress – including artificial intelligence – must remain anchored in ethical responsibility, because “processes are not the work of machines, but of humanity itself.”
In a passage that resonated deeply with his Turkish audience, Pope Leo placed the family at the center of social life, celebrating it as the primary school where one learns that “without the other, there is no I.” He welcomed government efforts to strengthen family bonds while cautioning against both isolation within families and cultural trends that commodify loneliness.
The Pope paid particular tribute to Turkish women, noting their growing and indispensable contribution in scholarship, professions, public service, and cultural leadership.
Looking to the wider region, Pope Leo expressed hope that Türkiye will continue as “a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples,” recalling the visits of his predecessors Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. With his own journey timed to the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea – to be marked in Iznik later this week – he underlined the enduring need for dialogue in pursuit of unity.
In a clear reference to ongoing global conflicts, he echoed Pope Francis’s phrase about “a third world war fought piecemeal,” lamenting that nations are devoting energies to destructive dynamics instead of shared goals: peace, ending hunger, protecting creation, and guaranteeing education and healthcare for all.
Concluding his first public address on foreign soil, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed that the Holy See brings only “its spiritual and moral strength” but stands ready to collaborate with every nation committed to integral human development.
“Let us walk together,” he said, “in truth and friendship, humbly trusting in the help of God.”
The six-day Apostolic Journey continues in Istanbul and Iznik before the Holy Father travels to Lebanon on 30 November.
- Raju Hasmukh with files form Vatican News
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