The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, visited the ruins of Pompeii: accompanied by his daughter Laura, he took a private tour of the archaeological site this morning, guided by director Gabriel Zuchtriegel. During the visit, he met and shook hands with Maurizio Patriciello.
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29 November 2025
Parent Category: Tutte le Attività (EN) -
Category: Anno 2025
The Pope arrived punctually shortly after 9 a.m. at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, one of the most symbolic places in Istanbul, staying for about fifteen minutes. A visit experienced "with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer". Accompanying the pontiff were the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ersoy, the Mufti of Istanbul Tuncel, Imam Fatih Kaya and some members of the "United States of the World".
Barefoot, with his hands at his sides and his head turned upwards - looking at the 21,043 turquoise ceramic tiles - Pope Leone XIV entered the so-called "Blue Mosque", one of the most symbolic and evocative monuments of the Turkish metropolis, previously visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and Pope Francis in 2014.
The papal entourage also included Cardinals Kurt Koch and George Koovakad, respectively prefects of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. Everyone paused for a long time in front of the muḥazīn pulpit, with Aşkın Tunca explaining the architecture and function of this space from which the faithful are called to prayer. The Pope then passed in front of the "Mihrab", the marble niche that indicates the direction of Mecca, which also contains a Sura – number 19 – that refers to the Virgin Mary. He continued his tour, looking several times at the dome and the ceiling, which is over 23 metres high.
At this moment, we recalled other visits to this Mosque.
In the afternoon, at 4 p.m., in the Patriarchal Palace, an important act in the path of interreligious dialogue took place: Pope Leo XIV met with Patriarch Bartholomew I and together they signed a joint declaration on the theme of peace and dialogue.
Pope Leo XIV's day ended with the celebration of Holy Mass in the Volkswagen Arena: thousands of people attended the event and we sat in the front rows, aware of the moment we were experiencing. In his homily, the Pope said, among other things:
“Dear brothers and sisters, we celebrate this Holy Mass on the eve of the day when the Church commemorates Saint Andrew, Apostle and Patron Saint of this land. At the same time, we begin Advent, preparing ourselves to relive, at Christmas, the mystery of Jesus, Son of God, “begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed), as the Fathers gathered at the Council of Nicaea solemnly declared 1,700 years ago. In this context, the Liturgy offers us, in the first reading (cf. Is 2:1-5), one of the most beautiful pages of the book of the prophet Isaiah, where the invitation to all peoples to ascend the mountain of the Lord (cf. v. 3), a place of light and peace, resounds. I would therefore like us to meditate on our being Church, focusing on some of the images contained in this text. The first is that of the “mountain exalted above the mountains” (cf. Is 2:2). It reminds us that the fruits of God's action...”.
During bassist Gerald Leon Cannon and his wife Minnie's visit to the Museum of Peace and the “Pino Daniele Alive” section, using Rino Zurzolo's bass guitar donated to the museum by his wife Valentina, the great American musician performed several songs – including Pino Daniele's “Quando” – with Elisabetta Serio, Pino's long-time pianist.
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".
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.