By Christine Persichette
From a Holy Mass celebrated before thousands at Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena to a quiet moment of prayer at the tomb of St. Charbel in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey has carried a consistent theme: peace.
During his arrival in Beirut on Sunday, the pope addressed Lebanon’s authorities and diplomatic corps at the presidential palace. Crowds lined the streets of the capital, waving Vatican flags in front of bombed-out buildings — a stark backdrop as the Holy Father urged the nation to place peace above all else.
“Peace is a gift that comes from God and which, above all, dwells in our hearts,” Pope Leo said. “You, who have important institutional tasks within this nation, are destined for a special beatitude if you can say that you have put the goal of peace above all else.”
The pope emphasized Lebanon’s religious diversity as one of its greatest strengths and called on leaders to continue fostering harmony among the country’s many faith communities.
Earlier in the trip, Pope Leo traveled to Iznik — historically known as Nicaea — where he joined roughly 20 leaders of Christian churches from around the world to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. This stop was the central purpose of his journey, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to Christian unity.
“We are all invited to overcome the scandal of divisions that, unfortunately, still exist, and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave His life,” he told those gathered.
The pope also warned against conflating religion with extremism. “The use of religion to justify war and violence, like any form of fundamentalism and fanaticism, must be firmly rejected,” he said, urging instead “the paths of fraternal encounter, dialogue, and collaboration.”
While in Turkey, Pope Leo visited the Blue Mosque, removing his shoes as a sign of respect. Unlike his predecessors, however, he declined to pray inside the mosque. He then traveled to the only Christian church built in Turkey in more than a century — a Syriac Orthodox temple — where he met with leaders from several Christian denominations.