Pope Francis said on Friday that he wanted to visit Türkiye next year to celebrate the anniversary of the first council of the Christian Church.

"It's a trip that I desire to go on, with all my heart," the pontiff told a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, a Vatican statement said.

The early centuries of Christianity were marked by a lively debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea – now known as the city of Iznik – in 325.

Earlier in May, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is based in Istanbul, said Francis was planning to visit the city before heading to Iznik.

He said a committee was being formed to organize the visit and that the Vatican would soon contact the Turkish government about it.

Francis will turn 88 in December. International travel for him is increasingly difficult, given his health.

He uses a cane or a wheelchair to move around because of a knee problem, and earlier this year, he avoided public speaking and skipped important engagements on several occasions, including a Good Friday procession in March.

However, his travel agenda for this year includes a September trip to Asia and Oceania, the longest of his 11-year papacy, with stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.

At the end of September, he is expected to be in Brussels and Luxembourg for a four-day trip.