Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Saturday but didn't stop to pray, as he opened an intense day of meetings and liturgies with Turkey's Christian leaders, where he again emphasized the need for Christians to be united.

More than 120,000 people are expected to attend Pope Leo XIV's mass in Beirut on Tuesday, the final day of his Lebanon visit and a chance to pay his respects at the site of the huge 2020 port explosion.

A monastery overlooking the Mediterranean will be one of the stops on Pope Leo XIV’s three-day visit to Lebanon, a country of complex sectarian politics and long-running conflict.

Pope Leo XIV has arrived in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as part of his first foreign trip aiming to bring a message of peace to a region marked by war and tensions.

Pope Leo XIV dedicated the final morning of his visit to Turkey on Sunday to strengthening ties with the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Pope Leo XIV is set to urge peace and unity on his second day in Lebanon on Monday, bringing a message of hope to young people whose faith in their crisis-hit country has dwindled.

Visiting Pope Leo XIV urged the Lebanese people on Sunday to embrace reconciliation and remain in their crisis-hit country, while calling on its leaders to put themselves fully at the