Italian Muslims invite Pope to Rome's Great Mosque

ROME -- A delegation representing Italy's Muslim community formally invited Pope Francis to visit Rome's Great Mosque, one of the largest places of Islamic worship in the western world.

Although the Vatican has not yet officially accepted, the visit was certain to take place, according to Omar Camilletti of the Mosque's 35-member Governing Council. Camilletti told CBS News that the date had not yet been announced for security reasons.

Imam Izzedin Elzir, the president of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, said in an interview with a Catholic broadcaster that the visit could take place on January 27.

According to press reports, planning for the Mosque visit has been ongoing for about 10 months. The visit is significant because this would be the first time that a Pope visits Rome's mosque, and the image of the Pope standing side by side with Muslim leaders would send a strong message against violence in the name of religion.

This would be the Francis' fourth visit to a mosque, and the ninth time in history that a Pope has entered an Islamic place of worship. The first pope to do so was John Paul II, when he visited Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in May 2001.

Inaugurated in 1995, the Grand Mosque in Rome took more than 20 years to complete and can hold up to 12,000 people. It was designed by architect Paolo Porteghesi, and financed by Saudi Arabia's King Faisal.

This visit would follow Francis' visit on January 17 to Rome's Great Synagogue.

Filed by CBS Radio News correspondent Anna Matranga in Rome.