In case you're wondering...

Istanbul is 7 hours ahead of EST.

The Vatican's page on the visit

The program

EWTN's schedule of coverage begins Tuesday at 6am EST

"The Presentation of the Missal" - this is a must-read if you really want to understand the heart of this Apostolic Journey. From Archbishop Piero Marini, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies, it is a description of the liturgies which the Pope will lead and participate in, but set in the context of the meaning of the entire visit, emphasizing at every turn the deep Christian and Jewish history embedded in the history of Turkey.

II. The liturgical book for the journey

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, as is customary for papal journeys, has also prepared a liturgical book for the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Turkey.

The volume, intended especially for the Holy Father himself and the concelebrants, contains the texts and the rubrics of the celebrations planned for the journey.

1. Celebrations with the Catholic community

The Holy Father presides at three celebrations of the Eucharist:

- Wednesday, 29 November, at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi in Ephesus;

- Thursday, 30 November, at the Chapel of the Papal Representation in Istanbul;

- Friday, 1 December, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul.

The celebration at the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi

The Eucharist is celebrated in an open place near the Shrine of Meryem Ana Evi, and is marked by clear mariological and ecclesiological themes.

The Mass is that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The euchological texts and the biblical readings stress the mystery of Mary’s maternity with reference to her presence, with the Apostle John, beneath the Lord’s Cross.  Jesus’ words from the Cross: “Behold your son … Behold your Mother” (Jn 19:26-27), have been seen by the Church as a special testament, by which Christ the Lord “entrusted to the Virgin Mary all his disciples to be her children”, while at the same time entrusting his Mother to the disciples.

In addition to Latin, the celebration uses Turkish, Italian, French, English and German.

The celebration in the Chapel of the Papal Representation

The texts of the celebration are from the Feast of the Apostle Andrew.  The Mass is celebrated in Latin, while the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular.

The staff of the Papal Representation will take part in the celebration.

The celebration in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

The texts for the celebration in the Cathedral of Istanbul are drawn from the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit.  The celebration has an explicit pneumatological dimension, linked not only to the fact that the Cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Spirit, but also to the particular nature of the assembly taking part, which is made up of various groups of different languages and rites, united in the same faith, by the same love and by one Spirit.

The celebration, both in its use of these languages and certain ritual sequences, is meant to express the diversity of the Catholic community. 

The languages used are: Latin, Turkish, French, German, Syriac, Arabic and Spanish.

A number of ritual sequences emphasize the presence of the various Eastern rites: Armenian, Chaldean, Syrian.  The Armenians will chant the entrance song and the Sanctus; the Chaldeans will chant the responsorial Psalm and the offertory song (in Aramaic); and the Syrians will chant the Gospel in accordance with their own ritual usage.

Much more of interest, including the structure and content of the prayer with the Orthodox.

What are the journalists doing? Joan Lewis of EWTN on her schedule:

I leave Sunday afternoon and arrive late evening with the time change. Monday will be spent getting my journalist credentials from both the Turkish government center and the media office for the ecumenical patriarchate, exploring the media center at the Hilton Hotel as well as other essential venues for this trip.

Tuesday the Pope arrives and I will cover the Ankara portion of his trip from Istanbul and report via television, daily radio shows and this blog, as I mentioned in a earlier column. Tuesday at 11a.m., a press conference will be held in the Hilton with Orthodox/Catholic hierarchical representatives prior to the Pope’s arrival for his meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I. Archbishop Demetrios of America will represent the patriarch at the conference, and Bishop Brian Farrell of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity will be there for the Vatican.

Wednesday morning I fly to Izmir and travel by ground transportation to Ephesus where I will cover Pope Benedict’s Mass and visit to the house and shrine of Mary. I return to Istanbul at 6, and that same evening the Pope and Patriarch will meet and pray together.

Thursday is dedicated to ceremonies for the patriarchal feast of their patron St. Andrew as well as the Pope’s meetings with other Christian religious leaders residing in Turkey. Friday, before returning to Rome, the Pope will celebrate Mass for Catholics in Holy Spirit Cathedral.

John Allen's back from his brief vacation and has posted 3 related stories since yesterday afternoon.

First (he mentions here that 3,000 journalists will be covering this trip...3,000....)

Though most press coverage will focus on the Islam angle, that’s hardly the only level of significance for the trip. Lest one forget, the primary motive is actually to visit the Patriarch of Constantinople on his patronal feast of St. Andrew. The day after his election to the papacy, Benedict XVI, in an address to the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, pledged to “work tirelessly for the reconstruction of full and visible unity among all the followers of Christ.” He added that he understood this effort will require “concrete gestures that enter into souls and stir consciences, inviting everyone to that interior conversion that is the presupposition of all progress on the path of ecumenism.” The trip to visit Bartholomew II, who presides over a beleaguered local flock of some 3,000 souls, 60 percent of whom are over 50, is one way to make good on that pledge.

(my emphasis)

Secondly, earlier today:

Security experts said that while the pope’s physical safety can almost certainly be assured, it’s much more difficult to protect other Christian targets in the country – churches, Christian-owned businesses and private homes, which could be placed in harm’s way if there is significant negative reaction to the pope’s presence, or his message.

Ely Karmon, an anti-terrorism expert in Herzliya, Israel, said, “I don’t expect threats against the person of the pope. The real risk is actions on the part of Islamic extremists against churches, religious institutes or other significant sites. It would ruin the trip, striking the pope and replying to what these groups considered anti-Islamic declarations at Regensburg.”

Part of the problem in Turkey, experts note, is that Turkish nationalists tend to identify Christianity with the country’s most bitter rival in Greece, so that “Christians” and “Greeks” are virtually synonymous terms. Hence any concession to Christians is often understood as a blow to Turkey’s national interests, and conversely Christians are frequently convenient targets when national pride is threatened.

Third:

On the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s Nov. 28-Dec. 1 trip to Turkey, the Vatican confirmed today that he will visit the famed Blue Mosque in Istanbul, yet another sign of Benedict’s outreach to Muslims following the uproar created by his Sept. 12 comments on Mohammad at the University of Regensburg.

Without the pope having left Rome, the Vatican on Sunday took an enormous step towards making the Turkey trip a success, effectively neutralizing the issue of Turkey’s candidacy to join the European Union.

The ANSA news agency quoted Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as saying, “I hope that Turkey can fulfill the conditions for entry into the EU and integration into Europe.”