His Holiness Pope Leo XIV Meets and Greets the Faithful in Istanbul

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul  (@Vatican Media)

At the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV greets the community of Catholic faithful and blesses the first stone for a Catholic parish in the US city of Dallas, Texas, brought by the pastor on a pilgrimage to Türkiye.

By Isabella H. de Carvalho -  Istanbul

“Pope Leo”, “Long live the Pope!” The small crowd gathered in the courtyard of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul cheered as they waited for Pope Leo XIV's arrival on Friday morning.

The Prayer encounter with the bishops, deacons, consecrated people and the rest of the Turkish Catholic community was his first appointment on the second day of his Apostolic Visit to Türkiye and Lebanon from November 27 to December 2.

Beneath the mosaic of Pope John XXIII—who was apostolic delegate in Türkiye from 1934 to 1945—on the façade of the Church, people of all nationalities and ages craned their necks towards the entrance to get a good glimpse of Pope Leo.

Although Catholics in Türkiye are a small minority, making up less than 0.05% of the population, many of them foreigners, those present at the Cathedral in Istanbul gave the Pope their warmest welcome.

They included Marie-François and her daughter Claire, from Cameroon. Marie-François was visiting her daughter, who lives in Istanbul, and they were both “very joyful” to be at the event, pointing out that when previous popes had visited their country, they had never had the opportunity to see them. 

Similarly, Mateusz Zajdecki, a 21-year-old student from Szczecin, Poland, who is studying abroad in Istanbul, was happy to be the Pope’s “companion” on the second day of his trip. “I want to take a picture in order to show it to my children in 10 years’ time and say, ‘Look, your dad saw the Pope’,” he said, smiling.

Then, on a serious note, he reflected on what the Pope’s visit to Türkiye on the occasion of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea meant for his life.

“I want to take the opportunity of his visit to ask myself questions about my faith, the same questions bishops asked themselves 1,700 years ago: what do you believe in?”

Pope blesses a brick for a new Church in Dallas

Amongst the crowd, a group of priests close to the doors of the Church were the most eager, as one of them in the first row held a brick in his hand for the Pope to bless.

He was Father Paolo Capra, Pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas, on a pilgrimage to Istanbul with a group of faithful to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the foundation of his diocese’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary (a diocesan seminary run by the Neocatechumenal Way).

“When we decided on the dates for this trip, we had no idea that this was actually going to be at the same time as the Pope’s first Apostolic Visit,” said Father Luca Simbula, rector of the seminary.

Father Capra explained that the brick was the first stone of the new parish they want to build. His current Church, located in a poor neighbourhood with a large immigrant community, currently has a capacity of 500 people, but many more come to the services and often find themselves having to follow from the outside. The project, he said, is to build a church that will be able to host up to 900 faithful.

As the Pope walked into the Church, he stopped to greet the priests, blessed the stone, and signed a t-shirt. Afterwards, the whole group erupted in cheers, hugging one another and rejoicing.

“For us, it’s a great blessing to be here,” said Father Luca. “It’s a great gift that he is coming here precisely at this time and in this land, which is really a Holy Land. There are so many roots of our Christian faith.”

Father Luca also shared that he felt His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s closeness, as he is from the United States, so he knows the “reality of our Churches.” He is also a missionary, he noted, which is part of the charism of priests belonging to the Neocatechumenal Way.

This text was originally published on the Website of Vatican News.