VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon in a six-day trip beginning late November, his first since becoming head of the Catholic Church, the Vatican said Tuesday.

The 70-year-old American is expected in Turkey from November 27-30, a visit that “will include a pilgrimage to Iznik on the occasion of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement.

A subsequent trip to Lebanon will take place from November 30 to December 2, he said, adding that an itinerary would come later.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun — a Maronite Christian who invited Leo to visit his country while at the Vatican in June — called the trip a “historic moment”.

“The papal visit is a call for peace, for the rooting of the Christian presence in the East, and for the preservation of the Lebanese model, which the world and the region need,” said Aoun in a statement.

In July, the pope said he hoped to visit Iznik for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea this year, a milestone in Church history.

That trip was supposed to have been made in May by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88.

Nicaea, which is now the city of Iznik and is located 100 kilometres (62 miles) southeast of Istanbul, hosted the first ecumenical council in Christian history in 325 AD.

Convened by Emperor Constantine, the council was the first to bring together Christian bishops from across the Roman Empire.

It laid the foundations for the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that intended to exclude certain so-called heresies.

The creed confirmed there was one God who exists in three parts — the Father, the Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit — which remains the cornerstone doctrine for most Christian denominations.

Leo’s highly anticipated visit to Lebanon is expected to focus on peace in the multi-faith country, which has committed to disarming non-state groups, particularly the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah.

A source close to organisers of the trip in Lebanon told AFP that the pope would visit the Sanctuary of Saint Charbel, north of Beirut, as part of the visit.

Despite a ceasefire that came into effect in November 2024, Israel maintains troops in border positions considered strategic in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces regularly carry out strikes, claiming to target Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure, particularly in the south.

The last pope to visit Lebanon was Benedict XVI in 2012, while the last papal visit to Turkey was in 2014, when Pope Francis travelled to Ankara and Istanbul and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.