By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo will visit eight towns and cities in Turkey and Lebanon later this year, the Vatican said on Monday, his first trip outside Italy as pontiff, and he is expected to make appeals for peace across the region.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, will visit Turkey from November 27 to 30 and then will be in Lebanon from November 30 to December 2.

Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis had planned to visit both countries but was unable to go because of his worsening health. Francis died on April 21 and Leo was elected as the new pope on May 8 by the world’s cardinals.

A central part of the visit to Turkey will be several joint events with Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians, who is based in Istanbul.

They wil

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