Cindy Wooden

Pope Leo XIV asked Canadian singer Michael Bublé and other artists to do their very best when performing a Christmas concert for the poor.

At the end of his first foreign trip as pope, a trip focused on dialogue, Pope Leo XIV said the examples of friendship and respect he had seen could be a helpful example for people in North America and Europe, too.

Pope Leo XIV ended his stay in Lebanon with what he termed "a heartfelt appeal: may the attacks and hostilities cease."

At a shrine topped by a 28-foot-tall statue of Our Lady of Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV listened to stories of unshakable faith amid war, injustice and suffering.

Acknowledging the existence of "circumstances that are highly complex, conflictual and uncertain," Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lebanon preaching peace.

On his first foreign papal trip, Pope Leo XIV showed reporters that the inflight news conferences of his predecessors would continue.

Pope Leo XIV, like his two immediate predecessors, visited the so-called Blue Mosque in Turkey's capital; he spent about 20 minutes inside but did not appear to pause for prayer as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis had done.

Although the ancient city of Nicaea lies in ruins and the geographic centre of Christianity has shifted West, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders gathered at an archaeological site in Turkey to celebrate the enduring faith set out in the Nicene Creed.

Meeting leaders of Turkey's small and varied Catholic communities, Pope Leo XIV asked them to embrace their "littleness" as they strive to be a leaven of God's love in Turkish society.

Pope Leo XIV began his first papal trip speaking of dialogue, peace and thanksgiving -- referring to both the holiday and his own gratitude.