Vatican releases details of Pope’s Turkey visit

(Saturday, Nov. 11, 2006) The Vatican on Saturday released details of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey scheduled from Nov. 28 - Dec 1. The Pope will fly from Rome to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where he will pay homage to the father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, at his mausoleum. Thereafter he will meet the Turkish president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the deputy prime minister and the religious affairs minister. However, a meeting with prime Minister, Recep Tayyp Erdogan is ruled out as he will be in Latvia, attending a NATO summit. That day the Pope will also address the diplomatic corps.
The following day, Nov. 29, the Pope will fly to Ephesus for a Eucharistic celebration with the Catholic Community there. In the afternoon he will fly to Istanbul, once ancient Constantinople, where he will meet the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is regarded as ‘the first among equals’ - a place of special honour in the family of Eastern Orthodox Churches but does not have jurisdiction over them.
On Nov. 30, the feast St. Andrew, the patron of the Orthodox Church, the Pope will have a common celebration with Orthodox faithful and sign an important joint declaration. Later, the Pope will visit the museum of St. Sofia and then hold a meeting with other religious leaders, including the rabbi of Turkey’s Jewish community. A meeting with Turkey’s Catholic Bishops is scheduled at the end of the day. The Pope flies back to Rome on December 1, after a Mass in the Holy Spirit cathedral of Istanbul.