Pope Leo XIV’s first foreign trip as pontiff took him to the heart of Istanbul on Saturday, November 29, 2025, where he made a high-profile visit to the city’s celebrated Blue Mosque. The journey, rich with symbolism and subtle departures from precedent, has drawn global attention—not only for its gestures of respect but for the unexpected choices the pope made inside one of Islam’s most iconic houses of worship.
Arriving at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque—better known to the world as the Blue Mosque for its dazzling blue and turquoise tiles—Pope Leo XIV, the first American to hold the papacy, followed the traditional custom of removing his shoes before stepping onto the mosque’s red carpets. Dressed in his white papal robes and socks, he was welcomed by the imam and the mufti of Istanbul, who guided him through the intricacies of the 17th-century structure, pointing out its soaring domes and ornate Arabic calligraphy. According to NPR, the imam, Asgin Tunca, explicitly invited the pope to pray: “It’s not my house, not your house, (it’s the) house of Allah.” Yet, the pontiff politely declined, choosing instead to quietly absorb the atmosphere. As the imam recounted to reporters, “He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel the atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased.”
This decision, while respectful, broke with a tradition set by his immediate predecessors. Both Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and Pope Francis in 2014 had observed moments of silent prayer during their visits to the Blue Mosque, facing east in a gesture of interfaith solidarity. When Benedict visited, tensions were high following a controversial speech, and his silent prayer was seen as a bridge-building moment. Francis, too, stood in silent prayer, his head bowed and hands clasped. In contrast, Leo’s visit was marked by contemplative silence, but no explicit act of prayer.
The Vatican itself appeared caught off guard by this deviation. Initially, a press release stated that Pope Leo had prayed at the mosque, but this was quickly rescinded. As Reuters reported, the Vatican clarified that the pope “experienced the visit to the mosque in silence, in a spirit of recollection and attentive listening.” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni described the visit as undertaken “in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer.”
Despite the absence of prayer, the pope’s actions were not without warmth and a touch of humor. As he was being led out of the mosque through a door marked “no exit,” Leo smiled and quipped, “It says no exit.” The muezzin replied with a grin, “You don’t have to go out, you can stay here.” This lighthearted exchange underscored the cordial atmosphere of the visit, even as it played out under the watchful eyes of the international press.
Pope Leo’s visit to the Blue Mosque is part of a broader four-day trip to Turkey, which also includes a scheduled stop in Lebanon. The journey was originally planned by the late Pope Francis, with a theme of building bridges between faiths—a mission Leo embraced from the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election in May. At the start of his trip, on November 26, Leo warned against escalating global conflict, stating, “The future of humanity is at stake.”
In Istanbul, the pope’s agenda extended beyond the Blue Mosque. He visited the patriarchal church of Saint George, where he prayed alongside Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. There, the two leaders signed a joint declaration vowing to take “courageous steps on the path to unity,” including efforts to find a common date for Easter—a symbolic gesture toward healing the thousand-year-old schism between Eastern and Western Christianity. As Politico reported, Leo pointed to the upcoming Holy Year in 2033, marking the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion, as an opportunity for Christians to journey together toward unity. “It is our shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating together the Feast of Feasts every year,” the joint statement read.
The pope also celebrated Mass at Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena, drawing together members of Turkey’s small Catholic community—numbering just 33,000 in a country of more than 85 million, the vast majority of whom are Sunni Muslim. Among the attendees were visitors from abroad and local converts to Christianity, each expressing their own hopes and challenges. As one Turkish attendee, Tarcin Unlu, told Politico, “I became Christian because I thought it was the best religion for me but my family is definitely not happy.” Another, Rodrick Nuel, noted, “As Turkey is 99.9% Muslim and just 0.1% Christian, it shows the pope is reaching out to other religions as well.”
The significance of the pope’s visit was not lost on the people of Istanbul. Some, like Turkish actor Can Ertik, welcomed the gesture as an affirmation of religious respect and coexistence. “We respect all religion. Sometimes we go to church, pray. I am Muslim, but not problem. I can go to church,” he told NPR. Others, like jewelry maker Nurda Sen, saw the visit as an important message to the world: “Lots of things change for Christians, other religiouses, so this is a good step for take a good message to the world.”
Yet, the trip was not without its logistical hiccups. Pope Leo’s ITA Airways Airbus charter was among hundreds of flights disrupted by a worldwide Airbus software update, as reported by Politico. The necessary equipment and technician had to be flown in from Rome to ensure the pope could continue his journey to Beirut for the second leg of his trip.
The Blue Mosque itself, built between 1603 and 1617 under Sultan Ahmed I, stands as a testament to Istanbul’s layered history—a city where Christian and Muslim traditions have mingled for centuries. It receives millions of visitors every year, each drawn by its architectural splendor and the spirit of its sacred space.
In a region where Christians now make up only about 0.2% of the population, and where religious minorities have felt the effects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policies aligning Turkish nationalism with Islam, Pope Leo’s visit carried added weight. It was, as many observers noted, a gesture of peace, unity, and hope that Muslims and Christians can coexist in the Middle East.
As Pope Leo XIV prepares to continue his journey to Lebanon—where he is expected to meet with faith leaders and celebrate Mass at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion—his visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque will be remembered not just for what he did, but for what he chose not to do, and the quiet message of respect and bridge-building it sent to the world.