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Pope Francis Prays for Turkey After Deadly Istanbul Bombing

The explosion on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue, a popular shopping street, on Nov. 13 killed six people and led around 80 others to be hospitalized.

(photo: Vatican Media / VM)
Courtney Mares/CNA Vatican

Pope Francis has expressed his condolences for the victims of a deadly bombing on a busy pedestrian street in Istanbul over the weekend.

The Vatican published a message on Nov. 15 that expressed the Pope’s spiritual closeness to the injured and those who mourn the loss of their loved ones who died in the explosion in Turkey’s capital.

“His Holiness prays that no act of violence will discourage the efforts of the people of Türkiye to build a society based on the values of fraternity, justice and peace,” it said.

The explosion on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue, a popular shopping street, on Nov. 13 killed six people and led around 80 others to be hospitalized, according to the Associated Press. Among the victims were two girls, ages 9 and 15. Funerals were held for the victims on Monday.

Turkish police have said that Ahlam Albashir, a Syrian woman with links to Kurdish militants, confessed to planting the bomb while in police custody. A total of 50 suspects have been apprehended in connection with the bombing.

The papal message was addressed to Archbishop Marek Solczyński, the apostolic nuncio in Turkey, and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

President Recep Erdogan in 2020 converted the former Byzantine church, the Hagia Sophia, back into a mosque.

How Difficult Is It to Be a Christian in Turkey? What You Need to Know

Several hundred thousand Christians reside there. About 25,000 of those are Roman Catholics, many of them migrants from Africa and the Philippines, according to a 2022 report by the U.S. State Department. Turkey’s status as a place difficult to be Christian has long roots, despite the country being one of the original places where Christianity flourished.

Jonah McKeown/CNA World
Pope Francis waves from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025, following weeks of hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia.

Pope Francis Returns to the Vatican

Pope Francis returned to the Vatican last Sunday and is expected now to face two months of rest and recovery. Is this a new phase in his pontificate? This week on Register Radio, we talk to Frank Rocca, EWTN News Senior Vatican Analyst. And, as we move closer to Holy Week, the Register has taken a long look at the “Art of Holy Week.” We are joined by Dominican Sister Mary Madeline Todd from Aquinas College and a contributor to our coverage.

Matthew Bunson Register Radio

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