The Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I are welcomed by two Metropolitans at the entrance of the Visitor Center, near the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos.
The religious leaders proceed in procession to the platform near the archaeological excavations and take their places in a semicircle before the icons of Christ and of the Council, where they light a candle.
The Holy Father and the Patriarch are the last to arrive at the site.
Leo XIV in Türkiye and Lebanon
27 November – 2 December 2025
• Opening chant
• Symbolic gesture
• Words of welcome by Patriarch Bartholomew I
• Ecumenical prayer
• Gospel reading
• ADDRESS of the Holy Father
• Chant
• Choral recitation of the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed
• Chant
• Invocations
• Our Father
• Blessing
• Final chants
At the end, the Pope and the Patriarch are the first to leave the platform, followed by the religious leaders, processing toward the Visitor Center.
