Pope Francis celebrates historical service in Istanbul!

Pope Francis celebrates historical service in Istanbul!

In Istanbul, an important service to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis took place. The celebrations, which took place on March 20, 2025 in the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Church, were accompanied by high-ranking representatives of various Christian churches. Among those present were the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch by Konstantinople, Bartholomaios I., as well as the Armenian-Apostolic Patriarch of Istanbul, II. Maschalian, and the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Cetin. This was reported by kathpress.at

In his speech, Patriarch Bartholomaios wished the Pope a early recovery and spoke about the planned celebration for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, which Pope Francis originally wanted to celebrate in Turkey. The patriarch emphasized the need for a united voice of Christianity in an increasingly fragmented world. This was done at the same time as the fair led by Pope Francis in the Heilig-Geist-Cathedral, where he called for the unity of different Christian denominations. Representatives of other faith communities were also present, which underlined the ecumenical meaning of the event, such as krone.at reported.

The service and the associated celebrations are part of Pope Francis' three -day trip to Turkey, which has been the first visit to a Pope in this country in eight years. During his stay, he also visited the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, two of the central sights of Istanbul, with the aim of promoting interreligious dialogue and supporting religious freedom. At these events, around 7,000 police officers were deployed due to high security measures.