Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon on first foreign trip, focused on peace and unity

November 30th, 20250 Pope Leo XIV’s first foreign trip, to Turkey and Lebanon, will be packed with opportunities to advance relations with two of the Catholic Church’s top priorities: Orthodox Christians and Muslims. It will also give history’s first American pope the spotlight to speak in broader terms about peace in the Middle East in languages...

Francis to become first pope to visit Arabian peninsula

December 7th, 20180 VATICAN CITY — The first visit by a pope to the Arabian peninsula will take place in February when Pope Francis travels to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Vatican said on Thursday. The Feb. 3-5 trip, Francis’ latest to a predominantly Muslim nation, will be centered around the theme of inter-religious peace. The...

Pope visits Egypt to mend ties between Muslims and embattled Christians

April 30th, 20170 VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis hopes to mend ties with Muslims on his trip to Egypt on Friday, but faces criticism from church conservatives for meeting Islamic religious leaders after a spate of deadly attacks against Christians. In a video message to the people of Egypt on Tuesday, Francis said the world had been "torn by blind...