Christian denominations must embrace their God-given diversity for the sake of unity, Francis told a congregation that included the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during an intimate Mass for Istanbul's Catholics this afternoon.
The service at the Catholic Church of the Holy Sprit, in Istanbul, was Francis' main opportunity to mingle with the city's tiny Catholic population - made up of Latin, Byzantine, Armenian and Chaldean Rite Catholics - during his three-day trip to Turkey.
People stood on chairs and hung over the bannisters of the church's gallery to see the Pope, who entered to a hymn sung in Armenian.
In his homily, which was delivered in Italian and then translated into Turkish, the Pope said that the Holy Spirit brought forth many charisms.
But, he argued, this did not lead to disorder.
"Under the Holy Spirit's guidance, they constitute an immense richness, because the Holy Spirit is a kind of unity, which is not the same thing as uniformity," he said.
By contrast: "When we try to create unity through our own human designs, we end up with uniformity and homogenization."
His words bore particular resonance for Turkish Christians. Despite making up just 0.2 per cent of the population, the country's Christians are divided into Catholic and Orthodox, and within the Catholic church into a multitude of different rites.
Francis told the congregation that the Holy Spirit was sent to achieve unity among believers.
"The Church and other Churches and ecclesial communities are called to let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, and to remain always open, docile and obedient."
With this conviction, the Pope offered greetings to the other Christian leaders present, which as well as Patriarch Bartholomew included the Syro-Catholic Patriarch, the Syro-Orthodox Metropolitan and the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchal Vicar, and the representatives of Protestant communities present.
During the Mass prayers were said in Latin, Turkish, Armenian and Arabic, as well as bidding prayers in Spanish and English.
African drumming and chant gave way to a French hymn during Communion, which lasted almost 20 minutes as people crowded around the tall columns, painted blue and gold, that line the Baroque church.
At one point Pope Francis told the Master of Ceremonies to wait before concluding the Mass, because Communion had not yet reached everyone in the building.
The Pope, who seemed more comfortable among the few hundred people than he had among government officials earlier in the day, when he toured the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia museum, left the Church to cries of "Viva Papa!", pausing to greet the many young people waiting in the courtyard outside in the darkening evening.
Last night, at a press conference in Istanbul, Orthodox theologian and Bishop John Zizioulas called Pope Francis' humility and referral to his office as that of Bishop of Rome a "revolution - very, very important" - that afforded unprecedented opportunities for the Churches to grow towards full unity.
After the Mass Pope Francis attended a joint service of thanksgiving with the Ecumenical Patriarch.
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