ANKARA: Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to Turkiye on Thursday, urging Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Mr President, may Turkiye be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace,” he said in the capital as he began the first overseas trip of his papacy.

“Today more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practises it, with firm will and patient resolve,” said Leo, in a nod to Turkiye’s growing role in conflict-resolution efforts in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond.

Elected in May as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the 70-year-old pontiff landed in Ankara shortly after 12:20 pm (0920 GMT) on a trip that will also take him to Istanbul and the ancient city of Iznik before heading to Lebanon on Sunday.

“I have very much been looking forward to this trip because of what it means for all Christians, but it is also a great message to the whole world,” he told reporters on board his plane, describing it as a “historic moment”.

A tight cordon of security meant the papal convoy swept through nearly empty streets en route to the vast mausoleum dedicated to the founder of modern Turkiye, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where Leo paid his respects.

He then headed to the sprawling presidential complex for talks with Erdogan, who is seen as a key player for peace efforts in a region fraught with conflict.

Bridge between East and West

“This land is inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity, and today it beckons the children of Abraham and all humanity to a fraternity that recognises and appreciates differences,” he said.

Hailing Turkiye’s “special role” as a bridge between East and West, Asia and Europe, he described it as a “crossroads of sensibilities” that was richer for its “internal diversity”.

“Uniformity would be an impoverishment. Indeed, a society is alive if it has a plurality,” he said in a country that counts some 100,000 Christians among a population of 86 million, mostly Muslims.

“Christians desire to contribute positively to the unity of your country.

They are — and they feel — part of Turkish identity.”

‘A source of enrichment’

Ahead of Leo’s speech, which was in his native English, a choir dressed in embroidered robes accompanied by traditional Turkish instruments sang a host of spiritual songs in English and Turkish.

Giving the first address, Erdogan insisted Turkiye was a country that “would not allow even a single one of our people to be subjected to discrimination”.

“We do not consider cultural, religious, and ethnic differences a source of division, but rather a source of enrichment,” he said.

He also hailed Leo’s stance on “the Palestinian cause” and called for “justice” for the Palestinian people.

“As the human family, our greatest debt to the Palestinian people is justice. The way to repay this debt is to implement the two-state solution as soon as possible.” Friday’s calendar will take on a more religious aspect with the celebration in Iznik of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a gathering of bishops in the year 325 that resulted in a statement of faith still central to Christianity.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2025