A Vatican delegation travelled to the province of Bursa in north-western Turkey to prepare for the imminent visit of Pope Leo XIV scheduled for the end of the month. The group, composed of 38 priests and nuns and led by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pontiff’s vicar general, began their agenda in the town of İznik (ancient Nicaea), where the first council of Christianity was held 1,700 years ago.
In İznik, as reported by Turkish media, the delegation visited the submerged ruins of the Basilica of St. Neophytos and the ancient church-turned-mosque of Hagia Sophia. The group then travelled to Bursa, where the Vatican envoys visited the historic municipal building, greeted artisans in the Koza Han bazaar and strolled through the Grand Bazaar, as well as stopping at the city’s Protestant church.
According to the Vatican’s official programme, the Pope is scheduled to travel to İznik on 28 November to take part in events commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, considered the first ecumenical council of Christianity. The pontiff is scheduled to arrive by helicopter and pray at the archaeological remains of the submerged basilica, which most historians consider to be one of the sites linked to that historic meeting convened by Emperor Constantine I the Great.
Turkish authorities hope that the Pope’s visit to ancient Nicaea will draw international attention to the region’s archaeological treasures, especially the so-called submerged basilica, helping to make İznik a destination for religious tourism. A team of 60 archaeologists, restorers, anthropologists and art historians are working around the clock to make the site ready to welcome the Pope.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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