The pope celebrated Mass with some 5,000 people, many foreign-born Catholics, in an intimate Istanbul arena on Nov. 29, his last full day in Turkey.

During the Mass, Leo urged Turkey’s small Catholic community to forge “bonds of unity” with other Christians and people of other faiths as an invitation to become peacemakers.

His visit brought a welcome distraction to a land still reeling from a war with Israel last year, with many fearing a renewal of hostilities.

Pope Leo XIV arrived on his first foreign trip to Turkey and later Lebanon, a visit that fulfills the late Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Christian anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a crucial time for efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Mideast tensions.

Leo's final event for the day was a Catholic Mass in Istanbul's Volkswagen Arena for the country's Catholic community, who make up 33,000 in a country of more than 85 million people, most of whom are Sunni Muslim.

Addressing some 400 government officials at his first public engagement in Beirut, the pope said Lebanon needs "authorities and institutions that recognize the common good as superior to the particular.

By Devin Watkins On the Ninth World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo XIV presided at Mass to mark the Jubilee of the Poor, joined by around 6,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Basilica. Ahead of the Mass, the Pope stopped for a moment to greet the 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Thousands of worshippers battled the rain to join Pope Leo XIV as he celebrated mass in Istanbul on Saturday, the last full day of his visit to Turkey.