(IN IMAGES) Leo XIV in Türkiye and Lebanon: a first historic trip

Leo XIV does not have a very expressive face. Often, his features remain composed, almost motionless. Like this Sunday, November 30, twenty minutes after leaving Istanbul for Beirut. No one expected to see it appear at the bottom of the Airbus.

Among the journalists gathered at the back – in this A320 repaired the day before – the agitation is perceptible on both sides of the aisle: bags pass over the seats, Turkish picnics disappear under the rows, cameras are hastily connected. The plane is flying low. Speaks to him with his usual calm, without glasses, gentle smile, even tone. What is striking, in these eight minutes of improvised conference, is his way of recounting his Turkish stage.

A light emphasis – perhaps a trait of American culture – which contrasts with his impassive face. Nicaea? “Magnificent celebration.” The Turkish authorities? “A special thank you.” The trip, the logistical details of which he discusses? No missteps, no hiccups, no crises. “A total success,” he says.

The discreet emotion behind the rigor

We then understand what Léon expects from a trip: no ultra-visible gestures, no thunderous announcements, but a succession of adjusted, calibrated, millimetered moments. A style without rough edges? No. Because emotion exists, but elsewhere. She was not on the stage of the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, where he entered on Saturday November 29 for mass in strict procession, without large gestures towards the crowd – neither blessing of babies, nor raised arms -, even when the faithful, at first shy, began to shout “Leone, Leone”. Léon never improvises in the liturgy.

But the day before, in the morning, in the small neo-baroque cathedral of Istanbul, a disturbance had arisen. As he entered, facing this emotional Catholic community, tiny but squeezed into a narrow space, his eyes briefly misted up. This twitch of the lip – the corner that goes up, a little trembling – had returned, like on the balcony of Saint-Pierre on the evening of his election. This May 8, 2025, before addressing his first words to the crowd – “Peace be with you all” – he had this momentarily reddened look and a slight shrug of the shoulders.

So many microsignals found in Istanbul. And like the evening of his election, after the emotion, his voice had returned to its place: full, clear, the syllables detached, when he reminded the Catholics of Turkey that “the kingdom of God germinates in the small, always in the small”.