Pope Leo, flying on Thanksgiving, given two pumpkin pies on papal plane

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By Joshua McElwee

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ANKARA (Reuters) -Like many Americans on the annual holiday of Thanksgiving, Pope Leo was travelling on Thursday, flying from Rome to Turkey for his first overseas trip as leader of the Catholic Church.

While the first U.S. pope may not have a chance to enjoy a meal with turkey, stuffing and the other traditional dishes this year, several journalists aboard his papal flight from Rome tried to make sure he had a taste of the annual feast.

As Leo greeted journalists aboard his three-hour flight to Ankara, two members of the press handed him pumpkin pies, home-made and carried through the airport and on to the plane just for the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.

The journalists, Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service and Elise Allen of Catholic website Crux, suggested Leo could share the desserts with his travelling entourage.

The pope, smiling, responded: “I’ll share some.”

Leo is visiting Turkey, the country, for three days before heading on to Lebanon, for a trip where he is expected to make appeals for peace in the Middle East and urge unity among long-divided Christian churches.

Speaking to journalists at the beginning of his flight, Leo told them he was grateful this year for the work they do in covering the Church and the first months of his papacy.

“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving,” said Leo. “I want to begin by saying thank you to each and every one of you, for the service that you offer … to the whole world.

“It’s so important today that the message be transmitted in a way that really reveals the truth and the harmony that the world needs.”

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Daren Butler and Alex Richardson)