Pope Leo made history on Saturday with his first visit to a Muslim place of worship, stepping into Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque during his four-day trip to Turkey. In a gesture of respect, the pontiff removed his shoes and entered in white socks, bowing slightly before being guided through the vast complex by the imam and Istanbul’s mufti.
The mosque, capable of holding 10,000 worshippers, became the setting for a lighthearted 20‑minute tour. Leo smiled and exchanged jokes with Askin Musa Tunca, the lead muezzin who conducts the daily call to prayer. Yet the pope did not pause to pray, a decision that appeared to surprise Vatican officials.
Vatican Misstep
Plans had called for Leo to be welcomed by the head of Turkey’s state-run religious authority, the diyanet, and possibly to pray inside the mosque. Neither occurred. Hours later, the Vatican mistakenly issued a press release claiming both had taken place, before retracting the statement and attributing it to an error.
A Visit Under Close Scrutiny
Tunca told reporters he had asked the pope if he wished to pray, but Leo declined, saying he preferred simply to visit. The Vatican later clarified that the tour was undertaken “in a spirit of reflection and listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there.”
The pope’s humor surfaced as the group exited through a doorway marked “No exit.” Smiling, Leo remarked on the sign, prompting Tunca to reply: “You don’t have to go out, you can stay here.”
Leo’s trip, which also includes a stop in Lebanon, is his first overseas journey since becoming pope in May. Relatively unknown before his election, he is being closely watched as he delivers his first speeches abroad and engages with communities beyond Catholic Italy.
Historic Setting
The Blue Mosque, officially named for Sultan Ahmed I, was built in the early 17th century and is adorned with thousands of blue ceramic tiles that give it its popular name. Directly across stands the Hagia Sophia, once a Byzantine cathedral and later a mosque for centuries. Converted into a museum in the 20th century, it was re-designated as a mosque in 2020 by President Tayyip Erdogan.
Unlike his predecessor Pope Francis, who visited Hagia Sophia in 2014 and later expressed sorrow over its reconversion, Leo chose not to include the site on his itinerary. The Vatican has offered no explanation for the omission.
Marking a Church Milestone
Leo selected Turkey as his first foreign destination to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which produced the Nicene Creed—still central to Christian worship worldwide. At a ceremony on Friday with Middle Eastern Christian leaders, he condemned violence committed in the name of religion and urged believers to overcome centuries of division.
Addressing clerics from Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Israel, Leo declared it a scandal that the world’s 2.6 billion Christians remain so fractured.
