Did you know this isn\u2019t the first time Pope Leo XIV has taken part in a papal trip? It sounds strange, but it\u2019s true. Back then, however, he was simply known as Robert Prevost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look at these images: it\u2019s a trip of Pope Francis, but if you look closely at the cardinals\u2026 there he is\u2014the one who is now the Pope.
So what can we learn from this footage? Well, we can see that Prevost not only traveled on the papal plane: he had a front row seat at almost every event. He saw everything from the inside\u2014 the logistics, the movements, key people, and the reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without realizing it, he spent years preparing, asking himself the important questions: Who am I speaking to? A politician? A Catholic minority? And what message do they need to hear?<\/em> Now, everything he once observed has become his reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TURKEY TRIP But that\u2019s not all. In the year 2018, during Pope Francis\u2019s trip to Peru, among all these bishops, was the then-bishop of Chiclayo: today\u2019s Pope Leo XIV, long before arriving to the Vatican. TURKEY TRIP If yesterday we saw a more political and diplomatic Pope Leo, today we saw his warmth. And he seemed more at ease among his own people, among the small Catholic community that in Turkey doesn\u2019t even reach 1% of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how they were waiting for him in the streets: a sea of phones trying to capture every moment. Understandably\u2014it's not every day a Pope visits your city. In fact, with so many people, it was almost hard to see him. We don\u2019t know if Pope Leo expected such a reaction from the Catholics, but it was one of the most moving moments of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the Roman pontiff felt it. Once again\u2014dressed in red\u2014we saw him looking around, even upward, slightly bewildered by what he was experiencing. His smile seemed to say, \u201cI\u2019m not entirely sure what to do or say right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And look at this\u2026 Pope Leo XIV was genuinely moved by an image reminiscent of May 8, when he appeared for the first time on the balcony of San Pietro after his election. But what has<\/em> stood out is how close he has been at the end of all of his meetings, just like this one. However, no matter how well planned, papal trips aren\u2019t perfect. They have their unexpected moments too. Look at what happened when Pope Leo XIV ran into a little bit of trouble today. TURKEY TRIP Pope Leo looked most comfortable when visiting the Little Sisters of the Poor\u2019s nursing home. He was smiling, spontaneous, and made it clear that he also wants to be close to the most vulnerable, just like his predecessor. But let\u2019s not forget the main reason for the trip: the pilgrimage for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. To some, it may have seemed simple or lightly attended\u2014far from the image of hundreds of Catholic and Orthodox faithful gathered together. Did you know this isn\u2019t the first time Pope Leo XIV has taken part in a papal trip? It sounds strange, but it\u2019s true. Back then, however, he was simply known as Robert Prevost. Look at these images: it\u2019s a trip of Pope Francis, but if you look closely at the cardinals\u2026 there he is\u2014the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":83525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ityj5yqzIYM","video_descarga":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/","international_url":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/","type":"none","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83592,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83589\/revisions\/83592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A POPE WHO HAS NOT CHANGED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look at the greeting. It\u2019s interesting, because it shows that he's not just become shy now. He has always had the same soft smile, the same way of nodding, and the same careful and discreet gestures.
This shows that none of this is new to Pope Leo \u2013 he has experienced papal trips. However, what he has had to get used to now is being the one who leads them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A PAPAL VISIT TO YOUR COUNTRY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
And keep in mind: these trips paralyze cities. What would be a normal routine\u2014going to work, or to school, or to the supermarket\u2014becomes impossibly complicated by blocked streets, police and crowds. Fun fact, you might even come across a Swiss Guard, but not in Vatican uniform\u2014 you'll see him wearing a suit, doing what they always do: protecting the Pope.
TURKEY TRIP
AN OVERWHELMING WELCOME<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
TURKEY TRIP
CHANGES IN THE MEETINGS
<\/strong>There does appear to be a significant difference between Pope Francis\u2019s meetings and Pope Leo\u2019s. In Pope Francis\u2019 events, there were usually a large number of testimonies: migrants, refugees, abuse victims, etc\u2026 With Pope Leo, we haven\u2019t seen that thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stayed a long time, greeting almost everyone, receiving gifts, and listening carefully to what they told him. And afterward, he even went briefly to the sacristy, took off the red mozzetta, came back out, wearing just the white cassock\u2026 simply to continue greeting people.
TURKEY TRIP
UNEXPECTED MOMENTS HAPPEN TOO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We saw the Pope having difficulty unveiling this plaque\u2026 We saw him pulling and pulling. It seems they tied it tighter than normal, and of course, when they finally managed it, what followed was exactly what you\u2019d expect\u2026
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE MOST TENDER MOMENT OF THE DAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
His message was simple: we cannot forget the elderly. But more than his words, his gestures, breaking protocol to approach those in wheelchairs and look them in the eyes, made his time there special.
NATS<\/strong><\/em>For this small community, the Pope visiting them carries enormous weight. You can see it just on the expressions of these sisters; surely, for them, it has been a tremendous encouragement to keep up their good work.
TURKEY TRIP
THE CENTRAL EVENT: NICAEA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, those involved in the organization told us that President Erdogan\u2019s government only allowed the ecumenical event on this very condition \u2013 that the celebration not be loud or large, in order to avoid a display of Christian strength in a country where Islam is central to the national identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"