Pope Leo XIV I started the second day of His journey To Türkiye by visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Saturday.
Liu was following in the footsteps of his recent predecessors, all of whom made high-profile visits to the mosque in a gesture of respect for Turkey’s Muslim majority.
This is the Pope’s first foreign trip. He will also visit Lebanon.
Leo, the first American pope in history, is expected to speak in broader terms about peace in the Middle East
Spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement after questions arose about whether Leo prayed in the mosque or not, describing the visit to the mosque as a silent visit worthy of contemplation.
Bruni said: “The Pope lived his visit to the mosque in silence, in the spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there to pray.”
Previous papal visits to the mosque have long raised questions about whether popes will pray at the Islamic house of worship or simply visit as a sign of respect for Muslims.
Asgin Tonca said he invited Leo to pray, but the Pope refused.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, Tonka said he told the Pope that the mosque is “the house of God.”
“This is not my house, it is not your house, (it is) the house of God,” he said. He said he told Liu: “I told him, ‘If you want, you can worship here.’ But he said, ‘It’s okay.’”
He said, “He wanted to see the mosque. He wanted to feel the atmosphere of the mosque, I think. He was very happy.”
Liu visited the famous mosque in Istanbul, where the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, Diyanet, showed him the mosque’s towering blue-tiled dome.
The Vatican said Leo would observe a “brief moment of silent prayer.”
Liu was following in the footsteps of his recent predecessors, all of whom made high-profile visits to the mosque in a gesture of respect for Turkey’s Muslim majority.