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.

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 agency, Capra's visit was part of a pilgrimage to Istanbul to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the foundation of his diocese's Redemptoris Mater Seminary. He said it was a coincidence that visit lined up with the pope's.  

Leo wrapped up his visit to Turkey on Sunday before heading to Lebanon, where he aimed to bring a message of hope to its long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East. He preached similar messages of peace and unity, within his own Catholic community and more broadly, during his earlier stops in Turkey.

Leo had two key appointments in Istanbul before flying to Beirut: a prayer at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral and a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, whose invitation to commemorate an important Christian anniversary was the impetus for Leo's visit.