just now (61+ words) Pope Leo XIV prayed at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul on Sunday in a gesture of support for Christian unity and Christian minorities in Turkey. Pope Leo XIV prayed at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul on Sunday in a gesture of support for Christian unity and Christian minorities in Turkey. Pope Leo XIV prays at Armenian cathedral in Istanbul...

3+ min ago (884+ words) When the Vatican announced last month that Pope Leo XIV would visit Lebanon on his first overseas trip, the country's Catholic bishops fired off a call to the faithful: Come and project the strength of Christianity in the Middle East. With Pope Leo set to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday, scores of Christians from across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq are expected to be there to greet him, seizing an opportunity to assert their influence even as their numbers decline in the region. The last papal visit to Lebanon was in 2012. Pope Leo arrives, on the second leg of a trip that began in Turkey on Thursday, at a moment of deep political uncertainty. The country is reeling from a war last year between Israel and the predominately Shiite Muslim militant group, Hezbollah. Though a cease-fire came into effect a…...

6+ min ago (1060+ words) Professor Nathan MacDonald with Christopher Froschauer's 1525 Old Testament open at Lucas Cranach the Elder's map of the Holy Land, in the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge. (CREDIT: University of Cambridge) Coloring the world into tidy blocks with sharp edges feels natural today. Nations look solid on a classroom map. But that way of seeing the planet had to be learned, and a surprising teacher helped shape it: the Bible. A new study from the University of Cambridge traces part of our border mindset to maps of the Holy Land tucked into early printed Bibles and atlases. Those drawings did more than guide readers. They quietly trained Europe to think in straight lines about land, faith, and power. Nathan MacDonald, Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Testament at the University of Cambridge, says one moment stands out. In 1525, a Z'rich…...

6+ min ago (86+ words) Pope Leo XIV wraps up a four-day trip to Turkey on Sunday after a warm welcome by its tiny Christian community, before heading to Lebanon with a message of peace for the crisis-mired nation. In Istanbul, Pope Meets Bereaved Family, Prays With Armenians Cl'ment Melki and Fulya Ozerkan Pope Leo XIV wraps up a four-day trip to Turkey on Sunday after a warm welcome by its tiny Christian community, before heading to Lebanon with a message of peace for the crisis-mired nation....

13+ min ago (87+ words) Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world, national news, entertainment and more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant reviews and more. Christians are still the largest religious minority in the Middle East, the region where Jesus was born, lived and died, but the community is shrinking. BEIRUT " The Rev. Issam Ibrahim remembers when citrus orchards surrounded Mar Youssef Maronite church in the southern suburbs of this city, where generations of Catholic families celebrated baptisms, first communions, confession and confirmations....

15+ min ago (475+ words) By Christopher Lamb and Billy Stockwell, CNN Beirut (CNN) " Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sunday as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts. Large crowds, some holding Lebanese and Vatican flags, lined the streets awaiting the arrival of the first American pontiff to the presidential palace in Baabda, where Leo is soon due to address the country's authorities and civil society. More spectators gathered inside palace grounds in the hopes of spotting the pope, donning plastic raincoats under a gray sky. Leo's visit will offer support to Lebanon's sizeable Christian minority, which has ancient roots in the country. The pontiff is due to meet political leaders and young people, take part in an inter-religious gathering and celebrate mass on the Beirut waterfront as…...

23+ min ago (1314+ words) Sathya Sai Baba continues to draw millions to Puttaparthi, the headquarters of the Sri Sathya Sai district, through his profound teachings and humanitarian institutions like free hospitals and educational centres A light breeze sweeps across Puttaparthi, the headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai district that was carved out of semi-arid Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh three years ago. The town, about 150km northeast of Bengaluru, nestles against the rolling foothills of the Eastern Ghats, with the Chitravati river flowing quietly alongside. Four years later, still in his teens, he built a small ashram near Puttaparthi. He frequently travelled in south India, staying at the homes of newfound devotees, and giving them rings and pendants taken out of thin air. "Miracles are my visiting cards," he famously said years later. But his greatest miracle is the transformation of human hearts. Many of those devout…...

26+ min ago (962+ words) Pope Leo XIV concluded his visit to Turkey on Sunday, embarking for Lebanon with a mission to deliver a message of hope to its beleaguered populace and reinforce a vital Christian community in the Middle East. Before his flight to Beirut, Pope Leo fulfilled two significant engagements in Istanbul: a prayer service at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians. This latter event, commemorating a key Christian anniversary, served as the primary catalyst for the pontiff's journey. This leg of his inaugural papal trip sees Pope Leo arrive in Lebanon at a particularly fragile juncture for the small Mediterranean nation, following years of successive crises. His visit honours a commitment made by Pope Francis, who had long wished to travel to the country but was prevented by…...

31+ min ago (106+ words) [Pope Leo XIV takes part in a prayer service with Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, near the excavations of the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytos on November 28, 2025 in Iznik, Turkey. (photo credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)]Catholic leaders visited the basilica beneath Lake Iznik, believed to be the site of the First Council of Nicaea, after falling water levels revealed the submerged ruins. Pope, patriarchs flock to Turkey to commemorate 1700th anniversary of critical religious council Catholic leaders visited the basilica beneath Lake Iznik, believed to be the site of the First Council of Nicaea, after falling water levels revealed the submerged ruins....

34+ min ago (475+ words) By Christopher Lamb and Billy Stockwell, CNN Beirut (CNN) " Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sunday as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts. Large crowds, some holding Lebanese and Vatican flags, lined the streets awaiting the arrival of the first American pontiff to the presidential palace in Baabda, where Leo is soon due to address the country's authorities and civil society. More spectators gathered inside palace grounds in the hopes of spotting the pope, donning plastic raincoats under a gray sky. Leo's visit will offer support to Lebanon's sizeable Christian minority, which has ancient roots in the country. The pontiff is due to meet political leaders and young people, take part in an inter-religious gathering and celebrate mass on the Beirut waterfront as…...