P
ope Leo greets journalists aboard the papal plane bound for Ankara, Türkiye (@Vatican Media)
Pope Leo to journalists: Visit 'a message of unity and
peace'
Aboard the papal plane to Ankara, Pope Leo XIV greets over
80 journalists, who present him with several gifts, such as a baseball bat,
pictures of his time as a missionary, and a pumpkin pie, and he describes his
Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon as seeking to promote peace and unity.
By Isabella H. de Carvalho—aboard the papal plane
“To the Americans here: Happy Thanksgiving!” said Pope Leo
XIV as he appeared, smiling and waving, from behind the curtains that divide
the different sections of the papal plane, around 20 minutes after takeoff from
Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
“It’s a wonderful day to celebrate, and I want to begin by
saying thank you to each and every one of you for the service that you offer to
the Vatican, to the Holy See, and to my person, but also to the whole world,”
he said to the over 80 journalists on board the flight to Ankara, the first
stop of his first Apostolic Journey that will bring him to Türkiye and Lebanon
from November 27 to December 2.
“It’s so important today that the message be transmitted in
a way that really reveals the truth and the harmony that the world needs,” he
continued. “In a special way, this particular trip to Türkiye and to Lebanon
has, first of all, the very meaning of unity, celebrating 1,700 years from the
Council of Nicaea.”
The Pope greeted the
more than 80 journalists aboard the papal flight to Türkiye (@Vatican
Media)
Despite having travelled to many countries as Prior of the
Augustinians, this will be his first time in both nations. The Pope said he was
looking forward to this visit because of what it means for Christians but also
for the entire world in terms of promoting peace.
“In a special way, the presence of myself, of the Church, of
believers in both Türkiye and in Lebanon, we hope to also announce, transmit,
and proclaim how important peace is throughout the world and to invite all
people to come together to search for greater unity and greater harmony and to
look for the ways that all men and women can truly be brothers and sisters, in
spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different
beliefs.”
He expressed his hope that everyone can “be a part of
promoting peace and unity throughout the world,” and he again thanked the press
corps for their service and “for being part of this historic moment.”
Laughs, gifts and jokes
The excitement was palpable amongst the journalists
representing media outlets from around the world. Reporters, video journalists,
and photographers greeted him with cell phones, microphones, and cameras in
hand, standing and leaning over their seats to try and get a better glimpse.
Valentinza Alazraki, a veteran Mexican journalist, has been
on more than 163 papal trips, starting with the one to Mexico with Pope John
Paul II in 1979. She welcomed the Pope on behalf of all the press and gave him
a Byzantine-style icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “for a Pope from North America
but with a Latin American heart.”
Pope Leo then greeted the journalists one-by-one manoeuvring
through the tight aisle of the plane, exchanging handshakes, laughs, jokes and
taking photos. Many journalists brought him gifts, such as pumpkin pie to mark
Thanksgiving and a kit with slippers and socks of the Pope’s favorite baseball
team, the Chicago White Sox.
American journalist
presents Pope Leo a pumpkin pie in honor of Thanksgiving day aboard the flight
(@Vatican Media)
Another reporter brought him a baseball bat—a family
heirloom, which belonged to Nellie Fox, a famous American player from the
1950s. “How did this pass security?” Pope Leo XIV joked. One journalist offered
the Pope two picture frames with a collage of photos gathered from his childhood
and his time as a missionary.
A particularly heartfelt gift came from Eva Fernández,
correspondent for the Spanish Radio, COPE, who gave the Pope a letter written
by Ignacio Gonzálvez, a 15-year-old who participated in the Jubilee of Youth in
August and has since been hospitalized at the Holy See’s Children’s Hospital
with an aggressive lymphoma.
The Pope had asked the faithful to pray for him during his
meeting with youth at Tor Vergata, in Rome, this summer, and then visited the
teenager and his family in the hospital. Ms. Fernández also gave the Pope the
coat of arms of her Spanish ancestors.
Another journalist gave the Pope a parchment from the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Kharkiv, thanking the Holy Father for the
assistance he has provided to the Ukrainian people suffering from the war.
Lastly, when speaking to a journalist of Algerian origin, he told her that he
hopes to visit the country.
Arriving in Türkiye
After a short flight, Pope Leo landed in Ankara, Türkiye, at
12:22 PM local time—touching down in the first city of his inaugural Apostolic
Journey.
The Pope was welcomed with an official ceremony at the
Esenboğa International Airport after the Apostolic Nuncio and the Chief of
Protocol of the country greeted the Holy Father aboard the plane.
Upon his arrival in the capital, Ankara, the Holy Father
visits the Atatürk Mausoleum, the final resting place of the founder and first
President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The Pope was greeted
by an official welcome ceremony (@Vatican Media)
He will meet with the nation’s President, Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan, before addressing Turkish authorities, representatives of civil
society, and members of the diplomatic corps. At the end of the day, the Pope
will travel by plane from Ankara to Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city.
The motto of the trip to Türkiye is “One Lord, one faith,
one baptism”, with an emphasis on building fraternity and dialogue between East
and West.
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