Vatican & World News

-   At an open-air Mass for some 150,000 people in Beirut, Pope Leo urges the Lebanese to “disarm their hearts”

-   The Pope visits the Hospital of the Holy Cross, one of the largest mental health centres in the entire Middle East.

-   We speak to relatives of those who died in the 2022 Beirut Port blast about the importance of the Pope’s visit to the site of the explosion

-   On his first full day in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV makes a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf and prays for peace

-   He meets with clergy and religious in Harissa and encourages them to continue to foster unity and peacemaking

-   On the penultimate day of his apostolic journey, the Pope takes time to meet with young Lebanese and listen to their concerns

-   Pope Leo XIV wraps up the Turkish leg of his apostolic visit and kicks off the Lebanese leg with a meeting with authorities

-   In the morning, the Pope prays at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and attends the Divine Liturgy in Istanbul before taking off from Turkey

-   Pope Leo chats with journalists aboard the papal plane

-   Pope Leo XIV begins the third day of his apostolic journey to Türkiye, visiting Istanbul’s Blue Mosque

-   He meets with leaders of other Christian denominations and signs a joint declaration with the Ecumenical Patriarch in which they reject all violence and wars perpetrated in the name of God

-   He celebrates Mass with Catholics in Istanbul, reminding them we are about to enter the season of Advent

-   On the second day of his apostolic journey, Pope Leo XIV prays at Istanbul’s Cathedral and visits a care home for the elderly

-   He travels to Iznik, the site of ancient Nicea, to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in the Church’s history

-   We look back at that Council which proclaimed the Creed which is recited by Christians around the world

-   Pope Leo arrives in Ankara for the first leg of his apostolic visit to Türkiye and Lebanon

-   In his first public event – the meeting with authorities – he describes Türkiye as a place of diversity where uniformity would be an impoverishment

-   We hear from some of those waiting to welcome him

 

 

-   Pope Leo prepares to depart for his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon, the first foreign visit of his pontificate

-   We speak to Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro, the Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, about the anticipation ahead of the Pope’s arrival

-   At one of his last official events in Rome before his departure, Pope Leo reflects on the mystery of life and our need for hope

-   The director of the Holy See Press Office briefs journalists ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Türkiye and Lebanon

-   As U.S. and Russian mediators meet in Abu Dhabi to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine, attacks between the warring nations continue to wreak death and destruction

-   The Bishop of Kontagora in Nigeria says the Church in the country is asking for prayers and unity as a wave of violence and kidnappings puts everyone to the test