Pope Leo XIV has begun his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon, coinciding with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. This visit is symbolic and geopolitical, as it places the pontiff in regions where Christianity once flourished. The papal presence aims to revive unity among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant communities while also signaling to regional governments that persecution and instability will not go unnoticed.
Matthew R. Petrusek, Ph.D., senior director of the Word on Fire Institute, emphasized the significance of the trip.