LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV finishes third day in Turkey with Mass at soccer stadium

In a touching moment at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul on Nov. 29, a child eagerly awaited and received the blessing of Pope Leo XIV.

The Holy Father explained in his address: “When we look into the eyes of God, we discover that He chose the path of humility and came down among us. This is the way of the Lord, and we are all called to bear witness to Him.”

Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians “journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven,” keeping their eyes “fixed on both shores” until they are united “in the house of the Father.”

The pope celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Volkswagen Arena, a large multipurpose venue within Istanbul’s Uniq cultural complex.

Read more from EWTN News’ Elias Turk, on the ground in Turkey.

Pope Leo XIV held his first public Mass abroad on Nov. 29 at Volkswagen Arena, a soccer stadium in Istanbul’s Maslak neighborhood.

Magdalena Wolinska-Riedi with EWTN News was there to capture the long procession into the Mass, with the Holy Father blessing the crowd on his way to the altar.

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said on Saturday they are “deeply alarmed by the current international situation,” issuing a joint appeal for peace.

The two leaders signed the joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul rejecting the use of religion to justify violence and urging global efforts toward peace.

Read more from EWTN News’ Elias Turk, on the ground in Turkey.

Earlier on Saturday, Pope Leo XIV prayed at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, the seat and principal cathedral of Patriarch Bartholomew I, the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Advent prepares us “to experience anew at Christmas the mystery of Jesus, the Son of God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father,” the pope said in his homily at a Nov. 29 Mass at Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul.

He also invited the Catholic community to be unified, naming the different Catholic rites present in Turkey: Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and Syriac. “Unity needs care, attention and maintenance,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV has begun the celebration of Mass for approximately 4,000 Catholics at Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.

Catholics in Turkey make up roughly 0.05% of the nation’s 85 million people.

Watch the papal Mass live here.

Pope Leo XIV and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I signed a joint declaration on Saturday stating their continued commitment to continued dialogue aimed at restoring full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

In the declaration, signed at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, the heads of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches emphasized that Christian unity is a divine gift, and called all clergy and faithful to pray and work for the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer “that they may all be one.”

Following the signing, Leo and Bartholomew I had time for a private conversation.

Pope Leo spoke about unity and friendship in a brief address at St. George’s Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchal Church during  a prayer service on Saturday.

Speaking during the Doxology, an ancient prayer of praise to God, the pope said he “experienced great emotion” when he entered the Orthodox church.

After the prayer, there was a private meeting between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox delegations.

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I lit a candle together at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul in a sign of Christian unity.

The pope visited the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul to participate in a Doxology, a prayer of praise to God.

The church is the seat and principal cathedral of Patriarch Bartholomew I, the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.

The papal plane set to fly Pope Leo XIV from Turkey to Lebanon on Sunday is one of thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft affected by a computer issue.

Around 6,000 Airbus planes were grounded this weekend after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, according to the BBC. For most of the affected aircraft, the issue could be resolved with a software update, but around 900 planes, including the papal plane, needed onboard computers physically replaced.

According to the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, a plane arrived to Istanbul from Rome on Saturday with a technician and the replacement computer for Pope Leo’s ITA Airways A320neo.

Leo is scheduled to take a two-hour flight from Istanbul to Beirut around midday on Nov. 30, for the second leg of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon.

Pope Leo XIV invited Christian leaders and heads of churches to walk together on a spiritual journey toward the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, according to the Holy See Press Office.

At the end of his meeting at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul on Saturday, the pope spoke about the value of the Council of Nicaea and Friday’s commemoration in Iznik, Turkey.

“He asked for and assured his prayers for new meetings and moments like the one experienced, even with those Churches that were unable to be present,” the Vatican press office said. Leo “recalled the primacy of evangelization and the proclamation of the kerygma and reminded us that division among Christians is an obstacle to their witness.”

Pope Leo XIV started his third day in Turkey on Saturday with a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. The visit was a gesture of respect towards the Islamic world, fraternity with Muslims, and continuity in building bridges of interreligious dialogue, though the pope declined an invitation to pray in the Muslim house of worship. Read more about the visit.

Pope Leo XIV had a private meeting with Syriac Orthodox Church and other Christian leaders at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul on Saturday, including the Syrian Orthodox patriarch and the metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch for the dioceses of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.

During the closed-door meeting, the pope and the Orthodox leaders each had an opportunity to briefly address the group.

The so-called “Blue Mosque” stands as one of the most important Islamic buildings in Istanbul. Its beauty, its scale, and its history continue to attract visitors from all over the world. It also holds a unique place in the relationship between Christianity and Islam, as several popes have passed through its doors in silence and respect.

Watch Pope Leo XIV’s visit here.

Pope Leo XIV visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known also as the “Blue Mosque,” in Istanbul on Saturday morning, before starting a series of ecumenical meetings.

The pope declined an invitation to pray during the visit, according to its muezzin, Aşgın Musa Tunca, who accompanied Leo for a tour of the 17th-century mosque.

Read more from EWTN News’ Elias Turk, on the ground in Turkey.