Welcome and serve vulnerable refugees, Pope Leo says

Pope Leo XIV leads first overseas service at Istanbul cathedral

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  Pope Leo XIV and Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, lead an ecumenical prayer service near the ruins of the Basilica of Saint Neophytos, in Iznik, western Turkey. AP Photo

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  The Pope attended the 1,700th anniversary ceremony of the First Council of Nicaea, which established key Christian doctrines, at the site of the basilica by Lake Iznik. Getty Images

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  Pope Leo meets Turkey's Chief Rabbi David Sevi in Istanbul. Reuters

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  The Pope poses for a photo with nuns at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Istanbul. Reuters

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  Pope Leo at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, on the first overseas trip of his papacy. AP

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  Pope Leo greets the congregation in the cathedral. AP

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  A crowd watches a broadcast of the Pope's visit to the 19th century cathedral. Getty Images

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  Pope Leo meets clergy, seminarians and pastoral workers at the cathedral. Reuters

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  On his way to Turkey, Pope Leo told journalists he hoped his visit would unite communities, 'in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs'. AFP

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  Onlookers await the arrival of Pope Leo at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. EPA

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  Pope Leo greets a child in a wheelchair at the cathedral. AFP

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  The Pope waves to well-wishers as he leaves the cathedral. Getty Images

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  Pope Leo in conversation with nuns during his visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Istanbul. EPA

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  Pope Leo at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home. He told elderly residents they are 'the wisdom of a people'. AP

Pope Leo XIV called for support for refugees and migrants in Turkey on Friday as he led his first overseas service as Pope in Istanbul’s Catholic cathedral.

“The significant presence of migrants and refugees in this country presents the church with the challenge of welcoming and serving some of the most vulnerable,” the pontiff told a congregation of Christian worshippers in the Latin Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

He encouraged worshippers "to accompany young people, to give special attention to those areas where the church in Turkey is called to serve ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, transmitting the faith to the local population, and pastoral service to refugees and migrants".

Turkey’s Christians eager to ‘feel seen’ during Pope Leo’s visit

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Pope Leo is on the second day of a four-day tour in Turkey, where he aims to build inter-Christian bonds and interfaith ties with the country’s Muslim majority. On Thursday, speaking next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, he called for an embrace of religious and cultural diversity and rejected a race for military and economic superiority. The pontiff will travel to Lebanon on Sunday.

People await Pope Leo XIV's arrival at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Turkey is home to millions of migrants, mostly from Muslim-majority countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, and churches in the country provide charitable services. Caritas, a Catholic aid organisation, provided victims of the 2023 earthquakes in south-eastern Turkey and Syria with shelter, food, water and other essentials.

Pope Leo arrived at the 19th century cathedral in a black hybrid vehicle, surrounded by security guards, and was greeted by the Catholic Bishop of Istanbul, Massimiliano Palinuro. A sign inside the church read “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” – an apparent nod to the pontiff’s aim to strengthen historically strained ties between the eastern and western churches.

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on the second day of his four-day visit to Turkey. EPA

Pope Leo is the fifth pontiff to pray at the cathedral, which all previous leaders of the Catholic Church visited on their trips to Turkey.

He said there was strength in small numbers, a nod to the size of Turkey's Christian community. Less than half a per cent of the 86 million-strong population is Christian. More than 99 per cent is Sunni Muslim.

“The church in Turkiye is a small community, but fruitful, like a seed,” Pope Leo said. “I encourage you to cultivate a spiritual attitude of confident hope.”

Hopes for peace

Worshippers, wearing religious dress, suits, ties and jackets, had travelled from across Turkey and from overseas to see the Pope speak in Istanbul.

Sister Sandra, a Chaldean nun originally from Iraq, travelled from France to see the Pope, and said his message of peace raised her spirits.

“This is a holy land, and with God’s will, he will guarantee peace in the whole Middle East, by way of this country [Turkey] that links east and west,” she told The National.

By visiting Turkey, the Pope could help strengthen Christian communities in the Middle East, she said.

“If peace can be guaranteed on this land, then … Christians will flourish, and there will be more dialogue between faiths,” she said. “I prayed for the Pope’s visit to be a blessing for all countries, and … that it guarantees peace in the Middle East.”

Worshippers had travelled from across Turkey and from overseas to see the Pope speak in Istanbul. AFP

Laki Vingas, a member of Turkey’s Greek Orthodox community, valued the Pope’s support for Turkey’s Christian minority.

The pontiff gave the message that “you don't need to be very powerful in numbers or money”, he said. “So it's extremely important, the message he gave, and he motivated the small communities left.”

Mr Vingas said he felt sorry for Turkish people who oppose the Pope’s visit. Some opponents have suggested the trip is an attempt to proselytise and make claims on the country’s territory.

“It's a pity for those that they are thinking like this,” he told The National. “I think coexistence today is vital, because there is no land, there is no country, there is not any place in the world where only indigenous people are living alone. So we have to understand, we have to learn, we have to respect each other without fear.”

The congregation, made up of worshippers from Armenian, Greek, Latin, Turkish and Chaldean churches, as well as Christians from Africa and Asian countries, was “extremely happy” to see the Pope, Mr Vingas said.

“He talked to the people he gave the opportunity to many other people to take pictures with him. So it was very nice and very kind.”

For Andrea Sansal, a Brazilian who has lived in Turkey for six years, the Pope’s service strengthened Christian communities there and sent a message of peace for a country surrounded by conflict.

Ukraine lies just across the Black Sea, while conflicts in the neighbouring Caucasus, Iran and Syria have often left Turkey feeling vulnerable to overspill. The Pope’s messages of strengthening human ties provided comfort, she said.

A worshipper kisses Pope Leo's hand at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Istanbul. Reuters

“No matter what religion a person is, as long as he speaks good words, as long as he can establish a bond, as a human being, it is very important for everyone,” she told The National.

After the cathedral service, Pope Leo visited the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home, an institution run by nuns to look after the elderly and the sick. He led prayers and met the home’s residents.