Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul’s Sultan Ahmed Mosque, widely known as the Blue Mosque, in his first visit to a Muslim place of worship since assuming the papacy in May.
The Pontiff was seen bowing as he entered the building, but reportedly did not pray in the mosque, as his two predecessors had done.
The Vatican said in a statement that Leo undertook the tour “in a spirit of reflection and listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer.”
The Pope is on a four-day trip to Türkiye, after which he will visit Lebanon.
He was later received at Istanbul’s St. George’s Cathedral by the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Blue Mosque is officially named after Sultan Ahmed I, leader of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617, who oversaw its construction.
It is decorated with thousands of blue and turquoise ceramic tiles and receives millions of visitors each year.
Pope Francis prayed there in 2014 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
The first Pope to officially enter a mosque was John Paul II, who made history when he visited the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 2001.
The papal visit to Turkey and Lebanon had been planned by the late Pope Francis, but the theme of building bridges was embraced by Pope Leo from the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election in May.
At the beginning of his trip, he warned that the world should not give in to “a heightened level of global conflict,” adding that “the future of humanity is at stake.”
In Lebanon, where an estimated one-third of the country is Christian, he is expected to meet more religious leaders and listen to young people.
On the last day of the trip, he will celebrate mass on the Beirut waterfront, at the site of the 2020 port explosion, praying for the more than 200 people who died and another 7,000 were injured.
