Pope Leo visits Blue Mosque, one of most important in Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV began the third day of his first Apostolic Journey abroad with a visit to the world-renowned Sultan Ahmed Mosque, widely known as the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s most iconic religious and architectural landmarks.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the Pope spent the visit in silent reflection, maintaining “a spirit of recollection and attentive listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer.”

The Blue Mosque derives its famous name from the more than 21,000 Iznik ceramic tiles adorning its interior, predominantly in shades of blue and turquoise. Completed in 1617 during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I, the mosque stands on part of the former grounds of the Great Palace of Constantinople and was intended to be the Ottoman Empire’s foremost place of worship. Eight historical volumes documenting its construction are now preserved in the Topkapi Library.

Pope Leo arrived at the mosque on Saturday morning, accompanied by Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Istanbul’s provincial mufti Emrullah Tuncel, and mosque imam Kurra Hafiz Fatih Kaya. Muezzin Musa Aşgın Tunca led the Holy Father on a brief tour of the interior.

This visit places Pope Leo XIV among the few pontiffs who have set foot inside a mosque. He is the third pope to visit the Blue Mosque, following Pope Francis in 2014 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Benedict’s appearance at the mosque marked only the second time in history a pope had visited an Islamic place of worship, following Pope John Paul II’s groundbreaking visit to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 2001.

Later today, Pope Leo is scheduled to meet leaders of local Churches and Christian communities at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem. He will then travel to the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, where he is expected to participate in a Doxology alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

The visit marks another significant step in ongoing interfaith and ecumenical dialogue—an emphasis Pope Leo has repeatedly highlighted during his journey.