9 historic religious sites Pope Leo XIV will visit in Turkey, Lebanon

Vatican City, Nov 26, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon holds both spiritual and historical significance for the Catholic Church and its relations with the Orthodox Church as well as with Islam.

From Nov. 27 — Dec. 2, Pope Leo will visit these historic sites in the first international apostolic journey of his pontificate:

1. Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Istanbul, Turkey)

The Roman Catholic cathedral was built and officially opened in 1846 and is the seat of the apsotolic vicar of Istanbul. Also known as the St. Esprit Cathedral, this minor basilica contains several relics of saints, including those of the first two popes St. Peter and St. Linus. 

In 1884, Pope Leo XIV donated a relic of St. John Chrysostom, the patron saint of the Apostolic Vicariate of Constantinople, to the cathedral. Since 1967, four popes have visited the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, including St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

A statue of Pope Benedict XV was erected inside the cathedral’s courtyard in 1919 in recognition of his dedication to Turkish WWI victims and Armenian Christians killed in the former Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1916. 

2. Archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus (İznik, Turkey)

This ancient basilica, located around 81 miles southeast of Istanbul, is believed to have been built in 380 atop the site of the first Christian ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea, convened by Emperor Constantine I in 325. The council reaffirmed the Church’s belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and led to the formulation of the Nicene Creed.

The ancient church was built on the site where 16-year-old martyr St. Neophytus was killed for his faith and his refusal to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. Recent site excavations have uncovered graves of people believed to be early Christian martyrs.

3. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Istanbul, Turkey)

One of Istanbul’s most important mosques which was built between 1609–1617 on part of the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the imperial residence of Christian Emperor Constantine I and the eastern Roman emperors until 1204.   

Two popes have visited the mosque, also known as the “Blue Mosque,” during official apostolic journeys to the country. Benedict XIV visited the mosque in 2006 and Pope Francis visited the religious site in 2012.  

4. Patriarchal Church of St. George (Istanbul, Turkey)

The Eastern Orthodox church was built in 1720 and houses the relics of some of the most venerated saints of ancient Constantinople, including St. Euphemia of Chalcedon.

Since 2004, the patriarchal church has housed the relics of St. Andrew the Apostle, who is venerated for bringing the Christian faith to Byzantium, modern-day Istanbul. The relics of St Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom can also be found at the church.  

5. St. Gregory Lusavorich Orthodox Armenian Church (Istanbul, Turkey)

This Orthodox church, also known as the Patriarchal Church of the Holy Mother of God, is the oldest cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Turkey. 

The Armenian church was originally built in 1391, shortly before the Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Mehmed II, conquered Constantinople in 1453. It was named after Greek Christian St. Gregory the Illuminator, who is revered as the founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Pope Leo will be the first pope to visit the church which has served as a site of religious worship for generations of Armenian families who have lived in Istanbul for more than 600 years.

6. Patriarchal Church of St. George (Istanbul, Turkey)

Converted from a convent into a church at the beginning of the 17th century, the Greek Orthodox basilica has been rebuilt and reconstructed several times throughout its 425-year history. 

The church is the seat and principal cathedral of Patriarch Bartholomew I, the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.

7. Monastery of Saint Maroun (Annaya, Lebanon)

The Lebanese Maronite monastery built in 1828 and became a site of pilgrimage for Christian faithful seeking the spiritual counsel of St. Charbel Makhlouf, who lived in the Annaya monastery and the nearby Sts. Peter and Paul hermitage from 1853 until his death in 1898. 

After the 1965 beatification of Charbel Makhlouf, the Lebanese Maronite Order built a new church near the monastery and consecrated it in 1974 in honor of the holy monk and priest canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977. It has since been visited by Christian and non-Christian pilgrims inspired by St. Charbel’s holy life.

8. Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon (Harissa, Lebanon)

Built in 1904 to mark the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX, the shrine was inaugurated on the first Sunday of May in 1908, which has since become the annual feast of Our Lady of Lebanon. 

Thousands of Christian and Muslim pilgrims come annually to pray at the shrine, which features an 8.5-meter tall bronze statue of Mary standing on a 21-meter high stone pedestal tower with a spiral staircase, entrusted to the care of the Congregation of Lebanese Missionaries. 

In 1993, a new basilica was built next to the shrine. John Paul II was the first pope to visit Our Lady of Lebanon in 1997, followed by Benedict XVI in 2012. 

9. The Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch (Bkerké, Lebanon)

The head of the Maronite Patriarchate has resided in Bkerké since 1830. Between the 15th–19th centuries, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church resided in the Qannubin Monastery in Lebanon’s Qadisha Valley.

The Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerké was built on the site of a monastery constructed in 1703 by an influential member of the noble Khattar al-Khazen family. By 1779, the monastery was used by the Maronite Church and eventually used as the winter residence of the Maronite Patriarch in 1830. 

The Maronite Church — named after the ascetic St. Maroun who lived in Antioch and died in 410 — has always been in full communion with the Apostolic See. The current Maronite patriarch is Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268115/9-historic-religious-sites-pope-leo-xiv-will-visit-in-turkey-lebanon