Pope asks followers to pray for Turkey humanitarian summit

Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he celebrated from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, May 22, 2016. Francis, addressing tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, expressed his hopes for an humanitarian summit opening the next day in Istanbul. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has asked for prayers so that participants at a humanitarian summit in Turkey fully commit to achieve what he defines as their main aim: saving the life of every human being.

Francis addressed tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter's Square Sunday and expressed his hopes for the summit which opens the next day in Istanbul.

He noted that the first such world summit aims to reflect on which measures should be adopted to deal with "dramatic humanitarian situations caused by conflicts, environmental issues and extreme poverty."

He invited prayers so that the summit will yield a commitment to "save the life of every human being, no one excluded, especially the innocents and most defenseless."

Francis' secretary of state will attend the summit.