On the occasion of bassist Gerald Leon Cannon and his wife Minnie's visit to the Museum of Peace, President Michele Capasso presented them with copies of his books "Bosnia" and "Raffaele, il sindaco".
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28 November 2025
Parent Category: Tutte le Attività (EN) -
Category: Anno 2025
The first meeting with Pope Leone XIV takes place early in the morning in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. We take our places in the right aisle of the Catholic cathedral, seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul.
The Holy Father is excited and moved by the warm welcome and embraces the nuns and bishops with great enthusiasm.
This trip is ‘unusual’ for us because, not following the Pope's official delegation, we have to anticipate the next stages. We therefore leave the cathedral and head for the home for the elderly run by the ‘Little Sisters of the Poor’, where the second stage of the day takes place.
'Dear sisters and brothers, good morning! I sincerely thank you for Sister's words of welcome and for the welcome shown by all of you. Hospitality is the gift of this home! A gift that comes from God and is made fruitful by the Little Sisters of the Poor, the staff and benefactors, and also by all the guests, in their daily life together. Thank you all!'
With these words, the Pope embraces the community of elderly people, the faithful and the Little Sisters of the Poor present in the chapel of the shelter.
Before concluding, we drive to Iznik-Nicaea: the most important stop of the day.
İznik. 12 noon. We arrive in this small town after a two-hour journey and numerous checkpoints set up to ensure the safety of the papal visit, which coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the first council, with an ecumenical prayer meeting scheduled to take place near the archaeological excavations of the ancient basilica of St Neophytos.
About 300 bishops participated in the First Council of Nicaea to resolve the problems raised by Arianism. They arrived at a declaration of faith, which was given the name Nicene Creed, recognising the consubstantiality between the Father and the Son and condemning Arius.
We are standing on the platform near the remains of the basilica where the Pope has arrived. After the ecumenical prayer and the speech by Patriarch Bartholomew, Leo XIV reads his speech:
“Dear brothers and sisters! In a time that is dramatic in many ways, in which people are subjected to countless threats to their very dignity, the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea is a precious opportunity to ask ourselves who Jesus Christ is in the lives of women and men today, who he is for each of us... I am deeply grateful to His Holiness Bartholomew, who, with great wisdom and foresight, decided to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea together in the very place where it was celebrated; and I warmly thank the Heads of Churches and Representatives of World Christian Communions who accepted the invitation to participate in this event. May God the Father, almighty and merciful, hear the fervent prayer we offer him today and grant that this important anniversary may bear abundant fruit of reconciliation, unity and peace.
A delegation from the "United States of the World" and the "Fondazione Mediterraneo" accompanied Pope Leone XIV on his first Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon.
In view of the summit to be held in Naples next March on the "United States of Europe" at the headquarters of the "United States of the World", a meeting coordinated by Massimo Pendenza was held at the University of Salerno.
Secretary-General Michele Capasso, Director Pia Molinari, the members of the Executive Council and the International Committee, the Council of Ambassadors, the heads of the branch offices and all the members of the United States of the World and the autonomous sections Fondazione Mediterraneo, Accademia del Mediterraneo and Kimyya express their heartfelt condolences on the death of Ornella Vanoni, member of the United States of the World and Fondazione Mediterraneo.