Pope's Last Day in Turkey Starts With Visiting Chief Rabbi

Reaches Out to Jewish Community Prior to Divine Liturgy

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The Pope has taken another step in advancing interreligious relations during his apostolic trip to Turkey.

In the final day of Pope Francis’ three-day visit to the nation of Turkey, which is majority Muslim, the Holy Father met with the Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Isak Haleva.

This was Francis’ second stop of the morning, which began with a private Mass in the chapel of the Apostolic Delegation in Istanbul.

After the meeting with the chief rabbi, the Holy Father traveled by car to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. George in Phanar, on the liturgical feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle.

At about 9:30 a.m., Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed the Holy Father into the Church where the Divine Liturgy had already begun.  

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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