Pope Leo XIV Commences First Overseas Trip in Turkey, Marking Thanksgiving with Pumpkin Pie
Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, commenced his highly anticipated first foreign trip to Turkey on Thursday, November 27, 2025, marking his departure from Rome on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday with a celebratory touch of home. Shortly after the papal plane departed for Ankara, the Pope personally greeted the eighty-plus journalists on board and wished the Americans among them a “Happy Thanksgiving,” describing it as a “wonderful day to celebrate.” In a light-hearted moment that underlined the unusual confluence of the American holiday and the papal mission, two reporters presented the Pope with two pumpkin pies and a pecan pie, which he smilingly accepted and promised to share with his traveling entourage.
The six-day apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, which is heavily focused on promoting Christian unity and fostering interfaith dialogue, is Leo XIV’s debut trip outside Italy since his election in May. Upon landing in Ankara, the Pope immediately fulfilled his duties as a visiting head of state, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and addressing government officials, civil society leaders, and the diplomatic corps. In his first international speech, Pope Leo stressed the pressing global need for peace, urging world leaders to actively “promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve.” He highlighted the heightened level of conflict currently fueled by “prevailing strategies of economic and military power.”
The primary focus of the Turkish leg of the trip is the commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a pivotal moment in Christian history that produced the Nicene Creed. Pope Leo is scheduled to visit the site of the ancient city, now İznik, to hold an ecumenical prayer service with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. This gesture aims to unify the long-divided Christian churches by concentrating on shared foundational tenets of the faith. The Pope will conclude his visit to Turkey after meeting with Catholic and other Christian and Muslim leaders in Istanbul before departing for Lebanon on Sunday.
