(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, JULY 15 - Preparations are under way for the Istanbul visit of Pope Francis, which is expected to take place in November 2014, English-language daily Today's Zaman reported Monday.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew extended the invitation while attending the pontiff's inaugural Mass in March in a first-of-its-kind move since the 1054 break that led to the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

According to Today's Zaman, Francis might well be in Istanbul on November 30, the feast day of St. Andrew, patron saint of the Greek Orthodox church. It is also the anniversary of the foundation of the Church of Byzantium and of its official recognition by Rome in the year 330. (ANSAmed).