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VATICAN CITY // With 2025 marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, there is a possibility that Pope Leo XIV will travel to the town in Turkey where the council convened, a visit that the late Pope Francis had hoped to make.
When Pope Leo met with journalists May 12 at the Vatican, an Italian journalist mentioned to him the historic anniversary and the trip Pope Francis had planned to take.
According to Aleteia, Pope Leo responded, “I know, we are preparing for it.”
The Vatican has not yet confirmed that Pope Leo will journey to the town of Iznik, Turkey, formerly Nicaea. The May calendar of liturgical celebrations presided over by Pope Leo lists four upcoming events: his inaugural Mass May 18, a visit to the tomb of St. Paul May 20, visits to two basilicas and Mass in Rome May 25, and Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica May 31.
Murat Saracoglu, chair of the South Marmara Regional Representation Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, recently spoke about what effects and meaning such a visit would have.
“Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Iznik would be a major international event for both Bursa and Türkiye,” Saracoglu told publication Anadolu in a May 14 article, explaining that it would hopefully turn Iznik into a pilgrimage center and bring in more tourists, which would benefit the region’s economy and international visibility. Saracoglu spoke of the trip as though it was confirmed, noting that international media members are already accredited to attend, and said that the event would bring almost 2,000 clergymen worldwide to the town.
Saracoglu said that the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Iznik Municipality are already preparing for such a visit with landscaping and creating a museum near the Nicaean council’s meeting site at the Basilica of Saint Neophytos, according to Anadolu.
Pablo Gómez, of the publication Hispanatolia, explained in a May 13 article that the Council of Nicaea convened in 325 AD on the shores of Lake Iznik in Turkey, where the town of Iznik is now established.
Emperor Constantine brought the council of Christian leaders together to address the heresy of Arianism, which claimed that Jesus was not God but a created being. The council established the Nicene Creed, which professes fundamental Catholic beliefs, including that Jesus Christ is “born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were made.”
FTN News Managing Editor Vedat Özgür Töre noted in a May 9 article that several popes, including Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and St. Pope John Paul II, all visited Turkey during their pontificates.
“If Pope Leo XIV makes Türkiye his first official trip, he will be continuing this long-standing tradition — but with an even more profound symbolic purpose tied to Christian unity,” Töre wrote. “The Council of Nicaea was not just about dogma; it was about healing division and presenting a unified front for a growing faith. In a time when global tensions and religious divisions remain high, a visit to Iznik would send a powerful message.”