A piece of a Dallas church was blessed by Pope Leo XIV in Turkey this weekend.

The newest leader of the Catholic Church blessed the foundation stone of St. Augustine's in Pleasant Grove while greeting a group of priests in Istanbul on Nov. 28, the official news agency of the Vatican reported .

Father Paolo Capra, pastor at St. Augustine, made the trip to Istanbul with the brick, which will be the first stone of the new parish they plan to build.

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Currently, St. Augustine holds 500 parishoners, but the new building will hold up to 900. According to the parish's most recent bulletin , the church has a goal to raise $17 million for the new building.

The pope's visit to Turkey

According to the Vatican news ag

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