ISTANBUL (RNS) — On his second day in Turkey, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the small Christian community in the country ahead of his symbolic prayer gathering at Nicaea, where bishops convened 1,700 years ago to lay down the foundations of their shared Christian faith.
Around 0.4% of the Turkish population identifies as Christian, including Armenian, Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Assyrian and Protestant, with the majority of the country adhering to Sunni Islam. Catholics lack full recognition by the Turkish government and face significant obstacles to owning property, running schools or opening seminaries.
At the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Istanbul on Friday (Nov. 28), Leo met with the clergy and pastoral workers of the local Catholic Church, offering his reflections on the ancient roots of the Christian faith in the country.
During his homily, the pope reminded his flock that the “littleness is the Church’s true strength,” which “does not lie in her resources or structures, nor do the fruits of her mission depend on numbers, economic power or social influence.”
Margaret Searson, mother superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Istanbul. RNS Photo by Claire Giangravè
He especially noted that many of the Christians and Catholics in Turkey are foreigners, reminding the church of “the challenge of welcoming and serving some of the most vulnerable.” Roughly 1.5 million foreigners reside in Turkey.
Later Friday, Leo was scheduled to visit the historic site of Nicaea, now Iznik, a few hours south of Istanbul to join the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and to pray together and honor their shared Christian roots.
The historical gathering was the birthplace of the Nicene Creed, recited by almost all Christians, and the place where church fathers agreed on the divinity of Jesus. Leo said the Nicene Creed is “a compass” that is meant to guide Christian beliefs and actions. He also underlined that Nicaea is a reminder that “Jesus Christ is not a figure of the past,” but guiding the church forward, and that doctrine too develops in time, “gradually bringing to light and expressing more fully the essential heart of the faith.”
After the Mass, the pope visited the center for the elderly of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international order present in more than 31 countries and founded in 1939. There he was greeted by the newly appointed Mother Superior Margaret Searson, who showed him the everyday work of Catholics in the country aiding the vulnerable population.
The center cares for 60 elderly people, of all religious denominations, and has 29 staff members who work night and day to provide for their basic needs. The days in the center are hard, and Searson told Religion News Service it’s hard to find people willing to do the work.
“You are to be like Jesus, whom the Father sent to us not only to help and serve us, but also to be our brother,” Leo told the sisters in his brief remarks. He also thanked the nuns for being close to the elderly, noting that “where efficiency and materialism dominate, the sense of respect for elderly people has been lost.”
Searson, who was born in the UK and ministered in France, Hong Kong and Africa, said she was overjoyed by the pope’s visit. “Why should he come to a humble house? You know, we’re just ordinary people and old people as well. There’s nothing special about us,” she said.
She said the pope’s words underlined that “there’s a real value, a Christian value, in caring for the old people and the family spirit in a home like this.”
For Anayit Karabacakyan, 76, one of the elderly being cared for at the home and an Armenian Catholic, seeing Pope Leo was the thrill of a lifetime. “I was shaking like a child, you know, like it was the first day at school!” she said, adding that she handed Leo a handmade gift representing the Virgin Mary.
Karabacakyan was born in Istanbul but spent 24 years living in California before returning to her home country. When her husband died, she decided to come live in the elderly home of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Ahmed Kuzik, 73, a retired photographer from Istanbul, has lived in the home for three and a half years and identifies as non-religious. “I’m lucky to be here. I have a good life, good friends,” he said, adding that “it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the pope and take his pictures!”