Pope Francis has wrapped up a trip to Turkey, where he visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Hagia Sophia, the Catholic communities of Istanbul, and a group of refugee children.
As a major part of his trip, the Holy Father attended the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of St Andrew the Apostle celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew, who is considered to be St Andrew’s successor. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew signed a second joint-statement of commitment toward Christian unity, following the first statement signed in Jerusalem earlier this year. In the statement, the two leaders expressed their “sincere and firm resolution, in obedience to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, to intensify our efforts to promote the full unity of all Christians, and above all between Catholics and Orthodox.”
The Holy Father and Patriarch Bartholomew also spoke out against the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, calling for peace between the religions of the region. The statement read, “Muslims and Christians are called to work together for the sake of justice, peace and respect for the dignity and rights of every person, especially in those regions where they once lived for centuries in peaceful coexistence and now tragically suffer together the horrors of war.”
Pope Francis also visited the Hagia Sophia museum, which was the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople until 1453. There the Holy Father signed the museum guest-book with two phrases in Greek and Latin, respectively: “Holy Wisdom of God”, and “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord”. At the conclusion of his tour of the museum, Pope Francis met with the president of the Episcopal Conference of Turkey, Capuchin Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini, and members of the Latin, Armenian, Syrian and Chaldean Catholic communities of Istanbul.
The Holy Father also visited the Salesian oratory of Istanbul, where he met with a number of young refugees. Pope Francis offered the youth a message of hope, asking them to “[r]emember always that God does not forget any of His children, and that those who are the smallest and who suffer the most are closest to the Father’s heart.” He also assured them of the Church’s effort in assisting the displaced, saying “[t]hrough her social and charitable organisations, the Church will remain at your side and will continue to hold up your cause before the world.”
Pope Francis returned to Rome on Sunday, and visited the Basilica of St Mary Major to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession throughout the trip.
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It is not the Lords dwelling place because the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved there.