Pope Francis

Pope Francis has started the second leg of his three-day visit to Turkey, in a richly-symbolic trip. Like his predecessor, he prayed at the Blue Mosque, which was his first stop in Istanbul, before visiting the Hagia Sophia, the St. Esprit Cathedral and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate on Nov. 29.

Pope Francis on Friday called for interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance and urged more help for refugees from Syria and Iraq.

In a speech in Ankara the pontiff also called for renewed efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, which "for too long has been a theatre of fratricidal wars".

Pope Francis has arrived in Turkey for a three-day visit that many are billing as an opportunity to increase dialogue between the Muslim and Christian worlds at a time of increased religious tension.
 

In the first day of his historic visit, Pope Francis warned against 'fanaticism and fundamentalism,' while Turkish President Erdoğan slammed both Islamophobia and terrorism, as well as the 'double-standards' of the West Pope Francis has arrived in Turkey for a three-day visit that many are billing as an opportunity to increase dialogue between the Muslim and Christian worlds at a time of incr

Pope Francis has arrived in Turkey for a three-day visit that many are billing as an opportunity to increase dialogue between the Muslim and Christian worlds at a time of increased religious tension.
 

When a pope last visited Turkey — Benedict XVI in 2006 — Muslim-Catholic tensions were so high that the Vatican added a stop at Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque at the last minute in the hope of showing Benedict's respect for Islam.

Pope Francis began a lightning visit to European institutions in Strasbourg on Tuesday where he was expected to call for a "tired" Europe hit by economic crises and surging nationalism to reclaim a leadership role.
     

Pope Francis will be visiting Turkey this weekend. This will be his sixth trip outside of Italy after he became pope in 2013. The fact that Turkey ranks among the first countries that Pope Francis is visiting already tells us a lot.

But let’s ask simply: Why is he coming?

Catholic clergy gathered in central Istanbul on Nov. 24 ahead of Pope Francis’ scheduled visit to Turkey this week.

Speaking at the gathering Istanbul Latin Catholic Church Bishop Monsignor Louis Pelatre stated that the pope's Nov. 28-30 visit will only include the cities of Ankara and Istanbul and he would not be visiting Ä°zmir, as previously reported.

Residents of the small Turkish town of Selçuk, located in the western province of İzmir, will be honored to host the visit of Pope Francis on Nov. 28, the town’s mayor said Nov. 15.