Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict, as he opened his first foreign trip as pope on Thursday with a plea for peace amid efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

On the plane ride to Turkey, Pope Leo greeted the Vatican press corps. At least two journalists gave him pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.

With his foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV will become the first American pope on the road. The journey fulfills a visit Pope Francis had hoped to make before his health declined, and it gives Leo

Pope Leo lamented during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts, and warned that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.

The pope is on his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon, marking a significant Christian anniversary and promoting peace amid global tensions.

On his first overseas trip, the pontiff repeats his predecessor’s warning of a “Third World War fought piecemeal” and appeals for global dialogue. The pope was speaking in Turkey where he will spend three days before travelling on to Lebanon,

Leo XIV's trip this week to Turkey and Lebanon, his first abroad as pope, is viewed as a sign of hope in a region struggling with violence and division.