Leo visited Istanbul’s iconic Blue Mosque on Saturday but did not stop to pray, as he primarily focused on strengthening ties with Orthodox patriarchs and encouraging bold steps towards the unity of Eastern and Western churches.
Leo removed his shoes and, in his white socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, gazing up at its towering tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam drew his attention to them.
The Vatican had stated Leo would observe a “brief moment of silent prayer” in the mosque, but he did not. Asgin Tunca, an imam of the mosque, said he had invited Leo to pray, considering the mosque was “Allah’s house,” but the pope declined.
Later, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni commented: “The pope experienced his visit to the mosque silently, in a contemplative and attentive spirit, demonstrating profound respect for the venue and the faith of those who worship there.”
The Vatican then issued a corrected version of its bulletin about the trip, removing the reference to the planned “brief moment of silent prayer,” without further explanation.
Leo, the first American pope in history, was continuing a tradition set by his recent predecessors, all of whom made high-profile visits to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as it is officially known, as a gesture of respect.
However, these visits have always prompted questions about whether the pope would pray in the Muslim house of worship, or at the very least pause for meditative silence.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in 2006, tensions were elevated because Benedict had offended many in the Muslim world a few months earlier with a speech in Regensburg, Germany, that was widely interpreted as linking Islam and violence.
The Vatican added a visit to the Blue Mosque at the last minute in an effort to reach out to Muslims. He observed a moment of silent prayer, head bowed, as the imam prayed alongside him, facing east.
Benedict later thanked him “for this moment of prayer” for what was only the second time a pope had visited a mosque, following St. John Paul II’s brief visit to one in Syria in 2001.
There were no uncertainties in 2014 when Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque: He stood for two minutes of silent prayer facing east, with his head bowed, eyes closed, and hands clasped in front of him. The Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, later told the pope, “May God accept it.”
With Leo, though, even the Vatican appeared caught off guard by his decision not to pray. The Holy See had to amend the official record of the visit after it initially retained the planned reference to him pausing for prayer.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, the imam Tunca mentioned he had told the pope: “It’s not my house, not your house, (it’s the) house of Allah.” He said he invited Leo to worship “But he said, ‘That’s OK.’”
“He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased,” he stated.
There was also another alteration to the official program, after the Vatican stated that the head of Turkey’s Diyanet religious affairs directorate would accompany Leo at the mosque. He did not come, and a spokesman from the Diyanet clarified that he was not expected, since he had welcomed Leo in Ankara.
Previous popes have also visited the nearby Hagia Sophia landmark, once one of the most historically significant cathedrals in Christianity and a United Nations-designated world heritage site.
But Leo omitted that visit from his itinerary. In July 2020, Turkey controversially converted Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque, a move that drew widespread international criticism, including from the Vatican.
After the mosque visit, Leo conducted a private meeting with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem. In the afternoon, he met with the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew, at the patriarchal church of Saint George.
There, they recited the doxology, a hymn of praise and glory to God, and signed a joint declaration vowing to take courageous steps on the path to unity, including finding a common date for Easter.
Eastern and Western churches diverged in the Great Schism of 1054, a division largely precipitated by disagreements over the primacy of the pope. While relations have improved, they remain separated, and other schisms have formed.
“It is our shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating the Feast of Feasts together every year,” the joint statement affirmed, referring to Easter.
The Vatican reported that in his address to the gathered patriarchs, Leo highlighted the next Holy Year for Christians, to be celebrated in 2033 on the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion, and invited them to journey to Jerusalem on “a path that leads to full unity.”
Leo’s final event was a Catholic Mass held in Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena for the country’s Catholic community, numbering 33,000 in a nation of over 85 million people, most of whom are Sunni Muslim.
While Leo was concentrating on strengthening relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims, trip organizers were addressing more mundane issues.
Leo’s aircraft was among those impacted by the worldwide Airbus software update, mandated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. This directive followed an analysis indicating that the computer code might have contributed to a sudden drop in the altitude of a JetBlue plane last month.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni stated on Saturday that ITA was actively working on the issue. He confirmed that the necessary monitor to update the aircraft, along with the technician who would install it, was en route to Istanbul from Rome.
Leo is scheduled to fly from Istanbul to Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday afternoon for the second leg of his papal journey.