Turkey

Pope Leo XIV begins Turkey visit with prayers and unity message

Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Istanbul. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

The American pope began his four-day visit on Thursday in Ankara where he urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to embrace Turkiye's role as a source of "stability and rapprochement between peoples" in a world gripped by conflict. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

People watch Pope Leo XIV on a screen as he meets the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Istanbul. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

"The Church in Turkiye is a small community, yet fruitful," he said in his address, urging followers to give "special attention" to helping migrants and refugees staying in Turkiye who number nearly three million, most of them Syrians. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

"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," he said. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

Pope Leo XIV greets a child as he meets the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

Pope Leo XIV talks with Archbishop Martin Kmetec of Izmir during a meeting with the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

Pope Leo is the fifth pontiff to visit Turkiye, after Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979, Benedict XVI in 2006 and Francis in 2014. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

Pope Leo XIV visits the nursing home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in Istanbul. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV for a meeting with the clergy at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Istanbul. [Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo]