Pope Leo XIV to pray at the site of the 2020 Beirut port blast

Pope Leo XIV will pray at the site of the 2020 port blast in Beirut that killed over 200 people and compounded Lebanon’ economic and political crisis during his first foreign trip as pope next month, which will also take him to Turkiye to mark an important anniversary with Orthodox Christians.

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‘The Vatican on Monday released the itinerary of Leos Nov. 27-Dec. 2 trip. It includes several moments for history's first American pope to speak about interfaith and ecumenical relations, as well as the plight of Christians in the Middle East and regional tensions overall.

Pope Francis had planned to visit both countries, but died earlier this year before he could. He had particularly long wanted to go to Lebanon, but the country’s economic and political crisis prevented a visit during his lifetime.

‘The main impetus for travelling to Turkiye this year is to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council.