Pope Leo XIV toured Istanbul’s Blue Mosque in a gesture of interfaith respect but notably broke from the tradition of his immediate predecessors by not observing a moment of silent prayer, despite the Vatican’s initial schedule stating he would. The mosque’s imam, Asgin Tunca, disclosed that he explicitly invited the Pope to worship, telling him, “It’s not my house, not your house, (it’s the) house of Allah… If you want, you can worship here,” to which the Pope replied, “That’s OK.”
The Vatican later issued a corrected bulletin, removing the reference to a planned “brief moment of silent prayer,” with a spokesman stating the Pope experienced the visit “in silence, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer.” The visit, which also omitted a stop at the Hagia Sophia, stood in contrast to the prayers offered in the same mosque by Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.