On Thursday morning, shortly after his official welcome at Ankara’s international airport, Pope Leo XIV made his way to Anıtkabir, the monumental mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as his very first public engagement on Turkish soil. He was accompanied by an official delegation that included senior representatives of the state and the guardians of the site.
At the heart of the complex, the Holy Father paused in silence before the tomb of Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Türkiye, whose leadership saw the birth of the modern state in 1923 and a sweeping programme of reform and secularisation. The mausoleum also houses the grave of İsmet İnönü, the second President of Türkiye, whose resting place faces Atatürk’s across the Ceremonial Ground, symbolising continuity in the nation’s early republican history.
In keeping with the protocol observed for visiting heads of state, Pope Leo signed the Mausoleum’s Book of Honour. In his message he wrote:
“I give thanks to God for being able to visit Türkiye, and I invoke upon this country and its people an abundance of peace and prosperity.”
The visit to Anıtkabir marks the opening moments of a six-day journey that will take the Pope through Türkiye and on to Lebanon—his first Apostolic Visit outside Italy—during which he carries a message of peace, dialogue, and Christian unity to a region marked both by rich religious heritage and ongoing tensions.
Anıtkabir itself is structured in four principal sections: the Lion Road, lined with sculpted lions leading visitors toward the heart of the complex; the wide Ceremonial Plaza; the Hall of Honour, where Atatürk’s tomb is located; and the surrounding Peace Park, planted with trees from many different countries as a sign of international goodwill.
By beginning his time in Türkiye with this solemn act of remembrance, Pope Leo XIV has signalled both respect for the Turkish people’s national story and a desire to build bridges at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, where Christian memory and modern nationhood meet.
