Pope Benedict's Trip to Turkey Confirmed

(16 Oct 2006 RV) Pope Benedict XVI's papal trip to Turkey has been confirmed. Earlier today the Vatican issued the Holy Father’s itinerary for the Nov. 28-Dec. 1 visit. The trip will begin in Ankara, the Turkish capital, and then take the Pope to Izmir, a port city near Ephesus, which is an ancient Christian community, and finally to Istanbul. The Holy Father will spend the first night in Ankara, the second in Ephesus and the last two nights in Istanbul, where Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I resides. There the Pope will mark the feast day of St. Andrew, who traveled across Asia Minor and is considered the father of the patriarchate of Constantinople, the Byzantine name for present-day Istanbul.