ROME — Pope Benedict XVI flew by helicopter to southern Italy's Adriatic coast yesterday and in his first Mass outside Rome made an impassioned plea for unity in the deeply divided world of Christianity.

Benedict received his most-sustained applause when he pledged to work "with all my energy" toward rebuilding "full and visible unity with all the followers of Christ."

"We cannot communicate with the Lord if we are not communicating among ourselves," the pope said to tens of thousands of followers gathered for the open-air celebration in the seaport of Bari. "I ask all of you to decisively take the path of spiritual ecumenism, which in prayer will open the door to the Holy Spirit, who alone can create unity."

His comments echoed a theme that the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has emphasized since his selection as pope on April 19. As enforcer of church doctrine for nearly a quarter-century, he said other religions, including Christian denominations, were inferior; since becoming pope, he has made a concerted effort to reach out to other faiths and promote inter-religious dialogue.

And while that outreach includes the Anglican Church and other Protestants and Jews, yesterday's homily was especially directed at Eastern Orthodox Christianity and efforts to heal the 1,000-year-old schism between it and Roman Catholicism.

Bari, which faces eastward toward the Balkans, has long been regarded as a historic "bridge" between East and West. It is the final resting place of the bones of St. Nicholas of Myra, an important fourth-century figure revered by Catholics and Orthodox alike as the patron of Russia, Sicily, Greece, children and sailors.

The pope praised Bari as a "land of meeting and dialogue" with the Eastern Orthodox and said Christians will have to move past the conflicts of old and open their hearts to mutual comprehension and forgiveness.

The inability of the late Pope John Paul II to make amends with the Eastern church was seen as one of his failures. Especially in Russia, Orthodox leaders are mistrustful of the Vatican and accuse the Catholic Church of attempting to lure away converts.

This was Benedict's first major trip outside Rome. He wanted to make clear his intention to follow his predecessor's example: The popular John Paul was the most-traveled pope in history. At 78, however, Benedict's journeys likely will be less extensive.