The welcoming ceremony will take place at the Presidential Palace where the Pope will meet with the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. He will also meet with the president of Religious Affairs.

On Saturday he will arrive in Istanbul for the most important part of trip. He will visit the former basilica of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. He will then preside over a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and attend an ecumenical prayer service with Patriarch Bartholomew I.

On Sunday, he will celebrate a Divine Liturgy at the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew.

That same day, Pope Francis will depart Istanbul at 5 in the afternoon and will arrive in Rome shortly before 7:00pm.

via Pope Francis to Visit the Istanbul’s Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

The post Pope Francis to Visit the Istanbul’s Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Dr. Mark Miravalle asks us to make a prayerful response to the recent terrorist attack in Turkey, suggesting that there is little that can be done politically to stop these terrible tragedies. He asks us to pray for the victims and their families but also take personal peace in our unpeaceful world by drawing closer to the God of peace by fostering our personal prayer life. This will thwart the intent of the extremists to cause terror.

For more information and resources:

• Phone: 740-937-2277
• Site: http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/
• Email: mary@motherofallpeoples.com

Ave Maria!

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Ave Maria!  A beautiful, ancient fresco of the Virgin Mary from Turkey has scientists scratching their heads and debating with one another.  It’s incredibly unusual to see the Virgin Mary smiling in one of these old frescoes.  Is it a restoration gone wrong, or has it always been that way?

Scientists are debating if a fresco depicting a smiling Virgin Mary in the Gumusler Monastery in Turkey is original or the result of a restoration gone wrong.

Carved into a large rock mass in the Cappadocia region, the monastery is believed to have been constructed sometime during the Byzantine era between the 8th and 12th centuries.

The most important part of the monastery is the church in the northern part. It is thought that at least three different masters worked on all the church wall paintings.

In the main section, paintings of Jesus on the throne, two angels, symbols of apostles, the Virgin Mary, the Great Basileios of Kayseri, Gregorios of Nysa and Gregorios of Nazians can be seen.But the monastery is best known for the Smiling Virgin Mary fresco, known to be the only one in Anatolia.

Source: Smiling Virgin Mary Fresco Puzzles Scientists | Greek Reporter Europe

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