Pope Francis, the leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world, talked about the Apocalypse in his Thanksgiving Day address at St. Peter's Square.
The Christian leader said that the end of the world was inevitable because there was so much sin, adding that questions about the Apocalypse were ancient.
The thought of the world "passing away" had travelled down through ages and though the Church knew no answers to when it shall happen, he confirmed that an end was unavoidable.
The Pope also added that the apocalypse will not be the end; it will rather be a "transformation" to a new, more beautiful universe. He also explained that God was preparing a new world for humans and humanity, while the earth weakens under the weight of the sin.
"Yes, the Earth is already deformed by sin and this world shall pass away. However, God promised a new dwelling place and a new Earth is being prepared; in this new world, justice will abide and God shall answer and quenched humans' longing for peace," Pope Francis explained.
At another mass on Friday, Pope Francis talked about the fall of Babylon and Jerusalem, telling the disciples that each city had fallen for separate reasons – for corruption and distraction.
The Pope on his current three-day visit to Turkey, called for more religious tolerance and claimed that fundamentalism could be fought by ridding the world of poverty, hunger and marginalization and not just by military intervention.
Speaking at Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's palace in Ankara, the 77-year-old pontiff called for more interreligious dialog and lauded the Muslim country for caring for more than a million Syrians who now live within Turkish borders.
Pope Francis is the fourth Pope to visit Turkey and his speech seemed to resonate among people present at the venue.
"It is essential that all citizens – Muslim, Jewish and Christian – both in the provision and practice of the law, enjoy the same rights and respect the same duties. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression, when truly guaranteed to each person, will help friendship to flourish and thus become an eloquent sign of peace," the Pope said.
Francis is set to travel to Istanbul on Saturday, where he will be the official guest of Orthodox Christian leader Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch who guides 300 million orthodox Christians.
