Patriarch Bartholomew attended a Catholic Mass on the occasion of the first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV

on May 9, 2026, celebrations were held in Istanbul to mark the first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV. Patriarch Bartholomew took part in the celebratory mass, which was another case of ecumenical activity of the head of the Phanar.

According to the Fos Fanariou publication, the event was held at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the Harbiye neighborhood. At the invitation of the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop Marek Solcinski, Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the audience in English. In his speech, he noted the rapidity of the time that has passed since the passing of Pope Francis and emphasized the importance of continuity in the ministry of the new pontiff.

During his sermon, Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized the «irreversible path» of rapprochement between the Churches of Constantinople and Rome, which began back in 1964 with the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras. Special attention was paid to the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Turkey, which was timed to coincide with the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea. According to the head of the Phanar, the legacy of Nicea is not just a historical fact, but a spiritual reference point for the restoration of full Eucharistic communion.

An important part of the address was a call for global peace. The Patriarch emphasized that the pursuit of Christian unity is not a narrow ecclesiastical issue, but serves as a mission for the sake of the whole world. «Unity is not only the Church’s hope, but also the path to the transformation of the world, » he said, calling on political leaders to do everything possible to immediately end military conflicts.

Metropolitans Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Cyril of Crete and Joachim of Prussia attended the event along with the Patriarch. At the end of the meeting, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his wishes of good health to Pope Leo XIV and expressed hope for further fruitful development of relations between the «sister churches».

Earlier, Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople initiated a discussion on the possibility of establishing a common date for the celebration of Easter for Christians of the Western and Eastern rites. This step is aimed «at achieving liturgical unity and may lead to a revision of centuries-old traditions of calculating the date of the main Christian holiday».