Pope Leo XIV disembarks from his plane upon his arrival at Istanbul Ataturk airport on November 27, 2025. / Credit: BERK OZKAN / AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Nov 27, 2025 / 18:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV ended Nov. 27 in Istanbul, concluding the initial day of his first papal trip abroad in Turkey. The Holy Father will spend Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in the country. Watch LIVE the major events of this trip at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic trip:

Workers erect the Vatican's 2025 Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 27, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

A towering Christmas tree now stands in the center of St. Peter’s Square, after the spruce arrived at the Vatican on Thursday morning. 

The 88-foot-tall spruce tree from Italy’s Bolzano province was erected next to the ancient Egyptian obelisk which stands in the middle of the 17th century Baroque square designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

This year, the northern Italian municipalities of Lagundo and Ultimo gifted the Christmas tree to the Vatican. The tree was harvested in the alpine valley of Ultimo.

In an Oct. 20 interview published on the Vatican State website, Bishop Ivo Muser of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone said the tree reaffirms the local church’s “spiritual and emotional bond” with the pope. 

“It is a way of saying: ‘We are with you, Pope Leo; we wish to pray with you and share the joy of Christmas with you,” he said.

“The tree thus becomes an ‘ambassador’ of our territory, our culture, and our faith — a way of bringing a small piece of our local Church into the heart of the universal Church,” he added.

The Vatican’s large-scale nativity display — donated by the Italian Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno — is currently under construction behind covered fencing in St. Peter’s Square.

The highly-awaited 2025 nativity scene will honor St. Alphonus Maria de Liguori, whose remains lay in the southern Italian diocese. In Italy, St. Alponsus is famous for composing the famous Italian Christmas carol “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (“From starry skies descending”).

Bishop Giuseppe Giudice of the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno said the nativity project for the Vatican, which involved a “long period of preparation,” will also showcase local Neapolitan Christmas traditions.  

“I am happy to say that everyone working on the project is from our wonderful region, and the Nativity scene will be rich in elements typical of our local Agro nocerino-sarnese area,” he said in an Oct. 24 interview published by Vatican City State.  

The Vatican will hold a special ceremony on Dec. 7 at 6:30 pm local time to present  the Christmas tree and nativity scene to the public. The display will be open to the public until mid-January 2026.

Workers erect the Vatican's 2025 Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 27, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

A towering Christmas tree now stands in the center of St. Peter’s Square, after the spruce arrived at the Vatican on Thursday morning. 

The 88-foot-tall spruce tree from Italy’s Bolzano province was erected next to the ancient Egyptian obelisk which stands in the middle of the 17th century Baroque square designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

This year, the northern Italian municipalities of Lagundo and Ultimo gifted the Christmas tree to the Vatican. The tree was harvested in the alpine valley of Ultimo.

In an Oct. 20 interview published on the Vatican State website, Bishop Ivo Muser of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone said the tree reaffirms the local church’s “spiritual and emotional bond” with the pope. 

“It is a way of saying: ‘We are with you, Pope Leo; we wish to pray with you and share the joy of Christmas with you,” he said.

“The tree thus becomes an ‘ambassador’ of our territory, our culture, and our faith — a way of bringing a small piece of our local Church into the heart of the universal Church,” he added.

The Vatican’s large-scale nativity display — donated by the Italian Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno — is currently under construction behind covered fencing in St. Peter’s Square.

The highly-awaited 2025 nativity scene will honor St. Alphonus Maria de Liguori, whose remains lay in the southern Italian diocese. In Italy, St. Alponsus is famous for composing the famous Italian Christmas carol “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (“From starry skies descending”).

Bishop Giuseppe Giudice of the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno said the nativity project for the Vatican, which involved a “long period of preparation,” will also showcase local Neapolitan Christmas traditions.  

“I am happy to say that everyone working on the project is from our wonderful region, and the Nativity scene will be rich in elements typical of our local Agro nocerino-sarnese area,” he said in an Oct. 24 interview published by Vatican City State.  

The Vatican will hold a special ceremony on Dec. 7 at 6:30 pm local time to present  the Christmas tree and nativity scene to the public. The display will be open to the public until mid-January 2026.

Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2025. / Credit: VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news.

U.S. legislators introduce bill to protect medical residents from coercive abortion training 

U.S. legislators have introduced a bill to protect the conscience rights of medical students and residents who often feel pressured or even coerced into participating in abortions during their training. 

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and others introduced the Conscience Protections for Medical Residents Act, designed to “ensure medical students and residents are never pressured or coerced into abortion training that violates their moral or religious beliefs,” according to a press release.  

The bill would establish federal protections for students, making abortion training an “opt-in” rather than “opt-out” system as “residents often fear that opting out could affect evaluations, recommendations, or future career opportunities,” according to the press release. 

“The first rule of medicine is to do no harm, yet for many aspiring doctors, coerced abortion training not only contradicts that oath but also violates their moral and religious beliefs,” Cornyn said in a statement. 

“By allowing medical residents to opt-in rather than opt-out of abortion training, this legislation would protect health care professionals’ convictions and give them the freedom to practice medicine without fear of retaliation.” 

Investigative videos find late term abortions performed in Canada without serious medical reason 

After a pregnant pro-life woman went undercover in abortion clinics across Canada, she discovered that late-term abortionists are easily accessible, even in cases where the woman isn’t having medical issues, according to recently released videos. 

Alissa Golob, co-founder of RightNow, went undercover when she was five months pregnant in 2023, obtaining videos in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere that have been released to the public over the past two weeks.   

The videos show abortionists saying that women don’t need to prove that they are having serious medical issues in order to have a late-term abortion. 

“Canadians are often told that late-term abortions never happen in Canada and if they do, they are for extreme medical reasons, such as the life of the mother,” Golob said in a Nov. 19 statement. 

“Yet, as you will see in these videos, I was told numerous times that attaining a late-term abortion in Canada is relatively easy, it is legal, and that I did not need a reason, medical or otherwise, regarding myself or my pregnancy,” Golob continued. 

RightNow is calling on the Canadian government in a petition to protect unborn children by restricting late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy. 

North Dakota reinstates law protecting unborn babies 

North Dakota’s Supreme Court reinstated a state law protecting unborn children in nearly all cases.  

In 2023, North Dakota made it a felony for abortionists to take the lives of unborn children except in cases of rape or incest and medical emergencies. After a lower court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, the law was put on pause. 

On Nov. 21, the state’s supreme court reversed the lower court’s ruling. A 3-2 majority of justices voted to uphold the lower court’s ruling, but the state’s constitution requires a minimum of four justices to declare a state law unconstitutional. 

U.S. senator calls on government to prevent taxpayer-funded abortions in 2026 funding  

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) this week urged his Republican colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the funding for the fiscal year 2026 does not fund abortions. 

In a Nov. 24 letter, Cornyn asked the senators “to hold the line against any Democratic efforts to subvert the Hyde amendment,” an amendment that prevents federal taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions. 

Cornyn noted that the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) defunded organizations that fund abortion, which he said “showed that even in the wake of the historic Dobbs decision, our fight is not over.” 

“Democrats shut down the government for 43 days in an unsuccessful attempt to undue the work Republicans accomplished in OBBBA, including the progress we made to stop forced taxpayer funding of abortion,” Cornyn said. “Now is not the time to give an inch on our pro-life values.”

Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2025. / Credit: VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news.

U.S. legislators introduce bill to protect medical residents from coercive abortion training 

U.S. legislators have introduced a bill to protect the conscience rights of medical students and residents who often feel pressured or even coerced into participating in abortions during their training. 

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and others introduced the Conscience Protections for Medical Residents Act, designed to “ensure medical students and residents are never pressured or coerced into abortion training that violates their moral or religious beliefs,” according to a press release.  

The bill would establish federal protections for students, making abortion training an “opt-in” rather than “opt-out” system as “residents often fear that opting out could affect evaluations, recommendations, or future career opportunities,” according to the press release. 

“The first rule of medicine is to do no harm, yet for many aspiring doctors, coerced abortion training not only contradicts that oath but also violates their moral and religious beliefs,” Cornyn said in a statement. 

“By allowing medical residents to opt-in rather than opt-out of abortion training, this legislation would protect health care professionals’ convictions and give them the freedom to practice medicine without fear of retaliation.” 

Investigative videos find late term abortions performed in Canada without serious medical reason 

After a pregnant pro-life woman went undercover in abortion clinics across Canada, she discovered that late-term abortionists are easily accessible, even in cases where the woman isn’t having medical issues, according to recently released videos. 

Alissa Golob, co-founder of RightNow, went undercover when she was five months pregnant in 2023, obtaining videos in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere that have been released to the public over the past two weeks.   

The videos show abortionists saying that women don’t need to prove that they are having serious medical issues in order to have a late-term abortion. 

“Canadians are often told that late-term abortions never happen in Canada and if they do, they are for extreme medical reasons, such as the life of the mother,” Golob said in a Nov. 19 statement. 

“Yet, as you will see in these videos, I was told numerous times that attaining a late-term abortion in Canada is relatively easy, it is legal, and that I did not need a reason, medical or otherwise, regarding myself or my pregnancy,” Golob continued. 

RightNow is calling on the Canadian government in a petition to protect unborn children by restricting late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy. 

North Dakota reinstates law protecting unborn babies 

North Dakota’s Supreme Court reinstated a state law protecting unborn children in nearly all cases.  

In 2023, North Dakota made it a felony for abortionists to take the lives of unborn children except in cases of rape or incest and medical emergencies. After a lower court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, the law was put on pause. 

On Nov. 21, the state’s supreme court reversed the lower court’s ruling. A 3-2 majority of justices voted to uphold the lower court’s ruling, but the state’s constitution requires a minimum of four justices to declare a state law unconstitutional. 

U.S. senator calls on government to prevent taxpayer-funded abortions in 2026 funding  

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) this week urged his Republican colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the funding for the fiscal year 2026 does not fund abortions. 

In a Nov. 24 letter, Cornyn asked the senators “to hold the line against any Democratic efforts to subvert the Hyde amendment,” an amendment that prevents federal taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions. 

Cornyn noted that the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) defunded organizations that fund abortion, which he said “showed that even in the wake of the historic Dobbs decision, our fight is not over.” 

“Democrats shut down the government for 43 days in an unsuccessful attempt to undue the work Republicans accomplished in OBBBA, including the progress we made to stop forced taxpayer funding of abortion,” Cornyn said. “Now is not the time to give an inch on our pro-life values.”

Image from page 155 of “Young Folks’ History of the United States” (1903). / Credit: Public domain

St. Louis, Missouri, Nov 27, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

In 1621, lacking both the skills and the resources necessary to survive in the harsh territory of New England, European pilgrims encountered a miracle: a Native American who not only spoke English but who also used his skills and knowledge to help them adapt to their environment and survive the brutal winter.

This was Squanto, a man who occupies a special place in the hearts of many people who celebrate Thanksgiving because of his willingness and ability to help the newcomers to his land.

Squanto’s full name was Tisquantum, and he was a member of the Patuxet tribe, which lived in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was probably born around 1585 in the area that is now Boston.

Little is known about Tisquantum’s early life, but what is known is that he was abducted from his homeland as a slave by an Englishman, Thomas Hunt, in 1614. He ended up in Malaga, Spain, where a group of Franciscans bought him in order to free him. It is apparently from these Franciscans that he received baptism and became Catholic, though it is not clear to what extent he was catechized and practiced his new faith.

Damien Costello, a Catholic historian and theologian, told CNA that the historical record portrays “a very skillful agent” in Tisquantum who was able to change his situation and engage with European culture. He was able to find employment as a translator in England and later convinced a wealthy financier to fund an expedition back to his homeland.

When Tisquantum finally made it back to where his tribe lived in present-day Massachusetts, his life took a tragic turn. He discovered that his entire tribe, while he was in Europe, had been wiped out by disease — he was the sole survivor.

The Pilgrims arrived in New England in 1620. They were far from the first Europeans to set foot on those shores — this was many years after Jesuit missionaries had started missionary activity in the area but hadn’t settled. When the Pilgrims arrived in what had once been Patuxet territory, the empty land made a good place to settle. Tisquantum, no doubt mourning the loss of his people, was nevertheless able to deftly reinvent himself as an intermediary between the Pilgrims and Native leaders.

In March 1621, the chief of the Wampanoag confederation, Massasoit, went to meet with the Pilgrims and brought Tisquantum along to translate. After negotiations fell apart, Tisquantum stayed with the Pilgrims and helped to facilitate what we now know as the first Thanksgiving — a meal between the Pilgrims and the Natives of the area. Tisquantum died the next year, in 1622.

So, was Tisquantum a Catholic? Costello says it is likely he was baptized and thus, theologically, he was indeed a Catholic. Native American culture was very spiritual, and Costello said he doesn’t think it unlikely that Tisquantum saw his baptism as a positive spiritual experience.

“Catholicism was a crucial ingredient in Squanto’s resiliency, the regenerative principle that gave spiritual power to sustain the disjunction of being a global citizen in a world forever turned upside down,” Costello later wrote in an article for U.S. Catholic.

As to whether Tisquantum continued to practice his Catholic faith for the rest of his life, there’s little evidence to say for sure. In a very real sense, God only knows.

This story was adapted from an episode of Catholic News Agency’s award-winning storytelling podcast, CNA Newsroom, and first published on Nov. 24, 2022. You can listen to that episode here.

Image from page 155 of “Young Folks’ History of the United States” (1903). / Credit: Public domain

St. Louis, Missouri, Nov 27, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

In 1621, lacking both the skills and the resources necessary to survive in the harsh territory of New England, European pilgrims encountered a miracle: a Native American who not only spoke English but who also used his skills and knowledge to help them adapt to their environment and survive the brutal winter.

This was Squanto, a man who occupies a special place in the hearts of many people who celebrate Thanksgiving because of his willingness and ability to help the newcomers to his land.

Squanto’s full name was Tisquantum, and he was a member of the Patuxet tribe, which lived in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was probably born around 1585 in the area that is now Boston.

Little is known about Tisquantum’s early life, but what is known is that he was abducted from his homeland as a slave by an Englishman, Thomas Hunt, in 1614. He ended up in Malaga, Spain, where a group of Franciscans bought him in order to free him. It is apparently from these Franciscans that he received baptism and became Catholic, though it is not clear to what extent he was catechized and practiced his new faith.

Damien Costello, a Catholic historian and theologian, told CNA that the historical record portrays “a very skillful agent” in Tisquantum who was able to change his situation and engage with European culture. He was able to find employment as a translator in England and later convinced a wealthy financier to fund an expedition back to his homeland.

When Tisquantum finally made it back to where his tribe lived in present-day Massachusetts, his life took a tragic turn. He discovered that his entire tribe, while he was in Europe, had been wiped out by disease — he was the sole survivor.

The Pilgrims arrived in New England in 1620. They were far from the first Europeans to set foot on those shores — this was many years after Jesuit missionaries had started missionary activity in the area but hadn’t settled. When the Pilgrims arrived in what had once been Patuxet territory, the empty land made a good place to settle. Tisquantum, no doubt mourning the loss of his people, was nevertheless able to deftly reinvent himself as an intermediary between the Pilgrims and Native leaders.

In March 1621, the chief of the Wampanoag confederation, Massasoit, went to meet with the Pilgrims and brought Tisquantum along to translate. After negotiations fell apart, Tisquantum stayed with the Pilgrims and helped to facilitate what we now know as the first Thanksgiving — a meal between the Pilgrims and the Natives of the area. Tisquantum died the next year, in 1622.

So, was Tisquantum a Catholic? Costello says it is likely he was baptized and thus, theologically, he was indeed a Catholic. Native American culture was very spiritual, and Costello said he doesn’t think it unlikely that Tisquantum saw his baptism as a positive spiritual experience.

“Catholicism was a crucial ingredient in Squanto’s resiliency, the regenerative principle that gave spiritual power to sustain the disjunction of being a global citizen in a world forever turned upside down,” Costello later wrote in an article for U.S. Catholic.

As to whether Tisquantum continued to practice his Catholic faith for the rest of his life, there’s little evidence to say for sure. In a very real sense, God only knows.

This story was adapted from an episode of Catholic News Agency’s award-winning storytelling podcast, CNA Newsroom, and first published on Nov. 24, 2022. You can listen to that episode here.

Nadia Howlader is given a key to a new apartment by Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 16 on the ninth World Day of the Poor. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 27, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

At 35 weeks pregnant Nadia Howlader became homeless, living on the streets of Sydney, Australia, but all of that changed when she was given a key to a new apartment by Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 16 on the ninth World Day of the Poor. 

Continuing a tradition begun by Pope Francis last year to combat homelessness and bring hope to vulnerable families during the 2025 Jubilee year of Hope in 13 countries, Pope Leo blessed 13 keys — one of which symbolized the key to Howlader’s new apartment in a Sydney suburb, faciliated by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Australia. 

Howlader, and her daughter Alisha, traveled to Rome with members of the society for an audience with the pope where she received the blessed key from Pope Leo and thanked him for the generous gift.  

The “13 Houses” campaign was inspired by the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s patron, St. Vincent de Paul, and his decision in 1643 to use an endowment from French King Louis XIII to build 13 small houses near the Vincentian headquarters in Paris to care for abandoned children. 

The 13 countries included in the project this year are Syria, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Italy, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. 

“The St. Vincent de Paul Society is probably the largest homeless prevention organization in Australia,” said Graham West of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in an interview with Sydney’s 10 News. Through the work of the case workers and working with our housing team we’ve now been able to find a house for Nadia to live in.”

Since 2018, the “13 Houses” campaign has helped over 10,000 people in 70 countries.

Pope Leo XIV receives a Thanksgiving pie on board the papal flight to Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 / Credit: Courtesy of Claudio Lavanga

Rome Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 09:25 am (CNA).

Aboard the papal plane on Thanksgiving Day, Pope Leo XIV kicked off his first international trip — a visit to Turkey — with distinctly American gifts: a baseball bat and pumpkin pie. 

“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!” Leo said as he greeted about 80 journalists aboard the chartered ITA Airways flight to Ankara on Thursday morning. “It’s a wonderful day to celebrate.” 

Two American journalists traveling with the pope gave him pumpkin pies. “It’s not Thanksgiving if there’s not enough to share,” Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen told the pope as she handed him the second pie. 

“I’ll definitely share some,” Leo responded. The pope had plenty to share as NBC News correspondent Claudio Lavanga also gave him a pecan pie.  

Leo, a longtime Chicago White Sox fan, also received a baseball bat once owned by Nellie Fox, the White Sox legend who played for the team from 1950 to 1963, when Leo, then Robert Prevost, was a small child. 

Smiling, the pope joked, “How did it get through security?” 

As a collective gift from the Vatican press corps, the pope received a Byzantine-style icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe made by Spanish iconographer Débora Martínez, a missionary in Cyprus. 

The icon, presented by Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki, who has logged more than 170 papal trips, was crafted using classical techniques of Eastern iconography. It depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe in Byzantine style, symbolically linking Latin America’s Marian tradition with the iconography of the Christian East. 

At the start of the nearly three-hour flight, the pope continued a practice of his predecessor Pope Francis of walking down the aisle to greet each journalist. 

Among them was Elias Turk, a journalist from Lebanon who is the Vatican editor for ACI MENA and EWTN News. Turk briefly shared a personal story with the pope, recounting how he lived through part of the 2024 escalation between Hezbollah and Israel and was trapped in Lebanon during the fighting. 

“I told him that I lived … a traumatizing experience with my nephews during the war. We had to run and hide inside a house after being in a garden. We heard fighter jets passing in the skies and then powerful explosions,” he explained. The pope listened closely. 

Turk, who is godfather to his nephews, asked the pope to bless two rosaries for the children, a three-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old, so they could pray for peace. He also carried a third rosary for a two-year-old Polish girl who has been repeatedly hospitalized. 

In a light moment with another journalist, Pope Leo said he had already completed his daily Wordle game before takeoff, adding that he solved Thursday’s puzzle in three tries. 

According to the pope’s brother, Leo plays Wordle every day and his favorite Thanksgiving dish is stuffing. 

During his first apostolic trip, taking place Nov. 27–Dec. 2, Leo will visit Turkey and Lebanon. 

Pope Leo XIV receives a Thanksgiving pie on board the papal flight to Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 / Credit: Courtesy of Claudio Lavanga

Rome Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 09:25 am (CNA).

Aboard the papal plane on Thanksgiving Day, Pope Leo XIV kicked off his first international trip — a visit to Turkey — with distinctly American gifts: a baseball bat and pumpkin pie. 

“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!” Leo said as he greeted about 80 journalists aboard the chartered ITA Airways flight to Ankara on Thursday morning. “It’s a wonderful day to celebrate.” 

Two American journalists traveling with the pope gave him pumpkin pies. “It’s not Thanksgiving if there’s not enough to share,” Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen told the pope as she handed him the second pie. 

“I’ll definitely share some,” Leo responded. The pope had plenty to share as NBC News correspondent Claudio Lavanga also gave him a pecan pie.  

Leo, a longtime Chicago White Sox fan, also received a baseball bat once owned by Nellie Fox, the White Sox legend who played for the team from 1950 to 1963, when Leo, then Robert Prevost, was a small child. 

Smiling, the pope joked, “How did it get through security?” 

As a collective gift from the Vatican press corps, the pope received a Byzantine-style icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe made by Spanish iconographer Débora Martínez, a missionary in Cyprus. 

The icon, presented by Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki, who has logged more than 170 papal trips, was crafted using classical techniques of Eastern iconography. It depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe in Byzantine style, symbolically linking Latin America’s Marian tradition with the iconography of the Christian East. 

At the start of the nearly three-hour flight, the pope continued a practice of his predecessor Pope Francis of walking down the aisle to greet each journalist. 

Among them was Elias Turk, a journalist from Lebanon who is the Vatican editor for ACI MENA and EWTN News. Turk briefly shared a personal story with the pope, recounting how he lived through part of the 2024 escalation between Hezbollah and Israel and was trapped in Lebanon during the fighting. 

“I told him that I lived … a traumatizing experience with my nephews during the war. We had to run and hide inside a house after being in a garden. We heard fighter jets passing in the skies and then powerful explosions,” he explained. The pope listened closely. 

Turk, who is godfather to his nephews, asked the pope to bless two rosaries for the children, a three-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old, so they could pray for peace. He also carried a third rosary for a two-year-old Polish girl who has been repeatedly hospitalized. 

In a light moment with another journalist, Pope Leo said he had already completed his daily Wordle game before takeoff, adding that he solved Thursday’s puzzle in three tries. 

According to the pope’s brother, Leo plays Wordle every day and his favorite Thanksgiving dish is stuffing. 

During his first apostolic trip, taking place Nov. 27–Dec. 2, Leo will visit Turkey and Lebanon.