Pope Leo XIV departs from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport as he begins his first Apostolic Journey, which takes him to Türkiye and Lebanon to offer a sign of unity and peace.
By Devin Watkins
The papal plane took off from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 7:58 AM on Thursday, bound for Ankara, Türkiye.
The partitions of the ITA Airways Airbus A320neo bore the image of Our Mother of Good Counsel, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary held dear by the Augustinians.
Devotion to Our Lady under the title is tied to the hill-town church of Genazzano, Italy, where the Augustinians have served since the 13th century.
Pope Leo XIV visited the church in Genazzano just two days after his election as the Successor of Peter.
On that visit, he prayed at the foot of the ancient image of Our Mother of Good Counsel, which comes from Shkodër, Albania.
Pope Leo’s seat bears the image of Our Mother of Good Counsel on the partition
First day in Türkiye
Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon begins in Ankara, where his first stop will be at the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of the Republic of Türkiye.
The Pope will then be welcomed to the Presidential Palace to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and deliver an address to the civil authorities and diplomatic corps.
He will then reboard the papal plane and travel to Istanbul, where he will reside at the Apostolic Nunciature for the remainder of his visit to Türkiye.
Pope Leo greets the pilots of the papal plane (@Vatican Media)
