VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday voiced his strong support for a Catholic church in Istanbul where one person was killed during an attack on Mass.
The Argentine pope at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican expressed his closeness to the community of the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul.
Earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya condemning the attack said the authorities were working on capturing the assailants.
Yerlikaya in a statement on X, formerly Twitter said two masked assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. He did not elaborate what kind of weapons were used or whether anyone else was injured.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also offered his condolences and support for religious minorities in the metropolitan city. He added there are no minorities in this city or this country.
Franciscan friars, an Italian order runs the church.
Foreign Minister of Italy Antonio Tajani has said that his ministry is monitoring the situation along with the Italian Embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul. He expressed the hope that the Turkish authorities will arrest those responsible.
I express my closeness to the community of the Church of St. Mary Draperis in Istanbul, which suffered an armed attack during Mass that killed one person and injured several others.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 28, 2024
Pope France in his post on X offered closeness to the community of the Church of St. Mary Draperis in Istanbul.
Meanwhile President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed condolences during a phone call with the priest of the Italian church and other local officials.
He assured that all necessary steps are being taken to catch the culprits as early as possible.
