Pope Leo tours Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque, declines to pray alongside imam

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul’s iconic Blue Mosque connected Saturday but didn't halt to pray, arsenic helium focused much connected bolstering ties with Orthodox patriarchs and promoting courageous steps for Eastern and Western churches to beryllium united.

Leo took his shoes disconnected and, successful his achromatic socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, looking up astatine its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions connected its columns arsenic an imam pointed them retired to him.

The Vatican had said Leo would observe a "brief infinitesimal of soundless prayer" successful the mosque, but helium didn't. An imam of the mosque, Asgin Tunca, said helium had invited Leo to pray, since the mosque was "Allah's house," but the pope declined.

Later, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said: "The pope experienced his sojourn to the mosque successful silence, successful a tone of contemplation and listening, with heavy respect for the spot and the religion of those who stitchery determination successful prayer."

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Pope Leo XIV visits the Sultan Ahmed Mosque successful Istanbul, Turkey, connected Nov. 29, 2025, accompanied by Muezzin Musa Asgın Tunca, Dr. Emrullah Tuncel and Imam of Mosque Sultanahmet Fatih Kaya. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

The Vatican past sent retired a corrected mentation of its bulletin astir the trip, removing notation to the planned "brief infinitesimal of soundless prayer," without further explanation.

Leo, history's archetypal American pope, was pursuing successful the footsteps of his recent predecessors, who each made high-profile visits to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, arsenic it is officially known, successful a motion of respect to Turkey’s Muslim majority.

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But the visits person ever raised questions astir whether the pope would commune successful the Muslim location of worship, oregon astatine the precise slightest intermission to stitchery thoughts successful a meditative silence.

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When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey successful 2006, tensions were precocious due to the fact that Benedict had offended galore successful the Muslim satellite a fewer months earlier with a code successful Regensburg, Germany that was wide interpreted arsenic linking Islam and violence.

The Vatican added a sojourn to the Blue Mosque astatine the past infinitesimal successful a bid to scope retired to Muslims. He observed a infinitesimal of soundless prayer, caput bowed, arsenic the imam prayed adjacent to him, facing east.

Benedict aboriginal thanked him "for this infinitesimal of prayer" for what was lone the 2nd clip a pope had visited a mosque, aft St. John Paul II visited 1 concisely successful Syria successful 2001.

There were nary doubts successful 2014 erstwhile Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque: He stood for 2 minutes of soundless supplication facing east, his caput bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped successful beforehand of him. The Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, told the pope afterwards, "May God judge it."

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With Leo, though, adjacent the Vatican seemed caught disconnected defender by his determination not to pray. The Holy See had to close the authoritative grounds of the sojourn aft it primitively kept the planned notation to him pausing for prayer.

Speaking to reporters aft the visit, the imam Tunca said helium had told the pope: "It’s not my house, not your house, (it’s the) location of Allah." He said helium invited Leo to worship "But helium said, ‘That’s OK.’"

"He wanted to spot the mosque, wanted to consciousness (the) ambiance of the mosque, I think. And was precise pleased," helium said.

There was besides different alteration to the authoritative program, aft the Vatican said the caput of Turkey's Diyanet spiritual affairs directorate would travel Leo astatine the mosque. He didn’t travel and a spokesperson from the Diyanet said helium wasn’t expected to, since helium had welcomed Leo successful Ankara.

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I permission a doxology work astatine the Patriarchal Church of Saint George successful Istanbul, Turkey, connected Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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Hagia Sophia near disconnected itinerary

Past popes person besides visited the adjacent Hagia Sophia landmark, erstwhile 1 of the astir important historical cathedrals successful Christianity and a United Nations-designated satellite practice site.

But Leo near that sojourn disconnected his itinerary. In July 2020, Turkey converted Hagia Sophia from a depository backmost into a mosque, a determination that drew wide planetary criticism, including from the Vatican.

After the mosque visit, Leo held a backstage gathering with Turkey’s Christian leaders astatine the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem. In the afternoon, helium prayed with the spiritual person of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew, astatine the patriarchal religion of Saint George.

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There, they prayed the doxology, a hymn of praise and glory to God, and signed a associated declaration vowing to instrumentality courageous steps connected the way to unity including to find a communal day for Easter.

Eastern and Western churches divided successful the Great Schism of 1054, a disagreement precipitated mostly by disagreements implicit the primacy of the pope. While ties person warmed, they stay divided and different schisms person formed.

"It is our shared tendency to proceed the process of exploring a imaginable solution for celebrating unneurotic the Feast of Feasts each year," the associated connection said, referring to Easter.

The Vatican said successful his remarks to the patriarchs gathered, Leo pointed to the adjacent Holy Year to beryllium celebrated by Christians, successful 2033 connected the day of Christ's crucifixion, and invited them to spell to Jerusalem connected "a travel that leads to afloat unity."

Leo's last lawsuit was a Catholic Mass successful Istanbul's Volkswagen Arena for the country's Catholic community, who fig 33,000 successful a state of much than 85 cardinal people, astir of whom are Sunni Muslim.

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While Leo was focusing connected bolstering relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims, travel organizers were dealing with much mundane issues.

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I ttend the Doxology astatine the Patriarchal Church of Saint George successful Istanbul, Turkey, connected Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

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Leo's ITA Airways Airbus A320neo charter was among those caught up successful the worldwide Airbus bundle update, ordered by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The bid came aft an investigation recovered the machine codification whitethorn person contributed to a abrupt driblet successful the altitude of a JetBlue plane last month.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said Saturday that ITA was moving connected the issue. He said the indispensable show to update the craft was connected its mode to Istanbul from Rome on with the technician who would instal it.

Leo is scheduled to alert from Istanbul to Beirut, Lebanon, connected Sunday day for the 2nd limb of his inaugural travel arsenic pope.