site.btaPope Leo Arrives in Istanbul, Meets Catholic Community

On Friday morning, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Istanbul, where he met representatives of the Catholic community at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the Sisli district. The cathedral is the second largest of the roughly ten Catholic churches in Istanbul and on the Princes’ Islands, where the Vatican’s residence in the city is located.

The Pope and his delegation were welcomed by Istanbul Governor Davut Gul and representatives of the Vatican in Turkiye. According to the Milliyet newspaper, the Pope’s delegation includes senior Holy See officials, among them the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

Security measures in Istanbul have been raised to the highest level for the Pope’s three-day visit.

A key event on Pope Leo XIV’s Friday schedule is a visit to Iznik, a town of about 45,000 inhabitants situated roughly 200 km from Istanbul and 80 km from Bursa. A ten-minute walk from the town centre leads to the lakeshore, where the remains of the ancient Basilica of St Neophytos lie. The basilica was the site of the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325, a landmark event in the history of Christianity and the development of Christian doctrine.

Community sources estimate the number of Catholics in Turkiye at around 35,000. In addition to Istanbul, there are Catholic communities in the country’s eastern Mediterranean region and in the city of Izmir.

On Thursday, the Holy Father held official talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, where the Pope was received with full military honours.