Overview
- Leon XIV joined Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Iznik for a prayer marking 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, underscoring a drive for Catholic–Orthodox unity.
- A day earlier in Ankara, he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and urged Turkey to act as a stabilizing force, warning against strategies of economic and military power.
- His Istanbul program includes an address to clergy at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, a visit to an elderly care home, private meetings with bishops, and a Mass for about 4,000 people on Saturday.
- Security authorities escorted Mehmet Ali Agca from Iznik after he tried to approach the pope, according to local reports cited by AFP.
- The journey continues to Lebanon from November 30 to December 2, where the pope is expected to press humanitarian and peace appeals in a country mired in political and economic crisis.