Pope Leo XIV visits Istanbul’s Blue Mosque in rare papal visit during Turkey trip

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque early on Saturday, marking the third day of his trip to Turkey. It was the first time the American pope — elected in May as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics — had entered a Muslim place of worship since succeeding his late predecessor, Francis.

The Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks, is known for its six minarets, cascading domes and striking interior lined with blue Iznik tiles. With this highly symbolic stop, Leo follows the path of Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the site in 2006, and Francis, who did so in 2014.

As with all visitors, the pope removed his shoes before stepping inside, walking across the burnt orange carpet in white socks — not a required part of papal attire, but in this case likely a nod to his favourite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox. He spent around 15 minutes inside, where Muslim dignitaries guided him through the vast interior as a stray crow circled overhead, cawing as it tried to find its way out, according to an AFP correspondent.

“He wanted to see the mosque, he wanted to feel the atmosphere of the mosque and he was very pleased,” Askin Tunca, the Blue Mosque’s muezzin, told reporters.

Outside, several dozen people — mostly foreign tourists — gathered behind security barriers.

Unlike Benedict and Francis, Leo did not stop at the nearby Hagia Sophia, the sixth-century Byzantine basilica that became a mosque under the Ottomans and later a museum under the Turkish Republic. In 2020 it was reconverted into a mosque — a move that prompted international criticism, including from Francis, who said he was “very saddened”.

On Saturday afternoon, Leo is scheduled to meet local church leaders and attend a brief service at the Patriarchal Church of St George before holding talks with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at his palace on the Golden Horn. The two leaders will sign a joint declaration, the contents of which remain undisclosed.

At 1400 GMT, Leo will celebrate mass at the city’s Volkswagen Arena before travelling on Sunday morning to the Armenian cathedral for a prayer service and leading a divine liturgy at St George’s — the Orthodox equivalent of a mass. He will then depart for Lebanon, the second leg of his trip and his first overseas tour since becoming pope.