This chapter examines the phenomenon of symbolic agency in contemporary political communication through the example of the Pope’s visit to Turkey at both theoretical and empirical levels. It first demonstrates that the classical, state-centred understanding of political actors has become inadequate in the face of globalization, new communication technologies and processes of mediatization; and it reinterprets the concepts of symbolic agency, symbolic power and representation in light of the approaches of Bourdieu, Weber, Hall, Edelman, Castells and Nye. Within this framework, the Pope is analysed as a global actor who, despite lacking formal political authority, has accumulated dense symbolic capital by virtue of historical continuity, the institutional legacy of the Catholic Church and his global visibility. By drawing on the examples of the United Nations Secretary-General, Nelson Mandela, Greta Thunberg, the Dalai Lama and Queen Elizabeth II, the study shows that symbolic power has become a structural feature of contemporary politics in the context of non-state actors and discusses the Pope’s distinctive position within this configuration. Ultimately, the chapter argues that political influence today operates not only through decision-making mechanisms, but also through meaning production, ritual practices, visual representations and regimes of public visibility; and it provides a theoretical basis for comparative research on the positions of religious leaders and other symbolic figures within the field of political communication.