Pope Leo XIV Urges Peace At Meeting With Erdogan: ‘Future Of Humanity Is At Stake’

Last Updated:November 27, 2025, 23:02 IST

Pope Leo XIV visits Turkiye, urging stability and dialogue amid Ukraine and Gaza wars, and aims to strengthen Christian-Muslim ties in Ankara and Istanbul.

Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech before a meeting gathering representatives of Turkey's authorities, civil society and diplomatic crops as part of his official visit at the Turkish national Library in Ankara on November 27, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged Turkiye to serve as a force for stability and dialogue in a conflict-torn world, as he began his first foreign visit as pontiff with a strong appeal for peace amid ongoing efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The American pope emphasised a message of peace as he arrived in Ankara, welcomed on the tarmac by a military guard of honour and at the presidential palace by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking to Erdogan and the country’s diplomatic corps at a library in the palace complex, Leo praised Turkiye’s historic role as a bridge between East and West, at the crossroads of religions and cultures.

“May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace," he said, speaking in front of a giant globe. “Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve."

Leo’s visit comes at a time when Turkiye, a nation of over 85 million people with a predominantly Sunni Muslim population, has positioned itself as a key intermediary in efforts to end the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Ankara has hosted rounds of talks with Russia and with Ukraine and offered to take part in the stabilization force in Gaza to help oversee a fragile ceasefire.

Leo did not mention the conflicts by name, but quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, in lamenting that the wars devastating the world today amount to a “third world war fought piecemeal," with resources being diverted to armaments instead of combating hunger, poverty and protecting creation.

After two world wars, he said the world is now passing through a phase of intensified global conflict. “We cannot surrender to this," he warned. “The future of humanity is at stake."

The primary purpose of Leo’s visit to Turkiye is to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a landmark assembly that brought together at least 250 bishops from across the Roman Empire.

It happened at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united. They split in the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope.

The trip will also give Leo an opportunity to strengthen the Church’s ties with Muslims. He is scheduled to visit the Blue Mosque and lead an interfaith meeting in Istanbul.

A Blue Mosque imam, Asgın Tunca, who will be receiving the pope, said the visit would help advance Christian-Muslim ties and dispel popular prejudices about Islam.

“We want to reflect that image by showing the beauty of our religion through our hospitality, that is God’s command," Tunca said.

News world Pope Leo XIV Urges Peace At Meeting With Erdogan: ‘Future Of Humanity Is At Stake’

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