Pope visits Istanbul’s Blue Mosque without praying as he focuses on Christian unity World Nov 29, 2025 3:16 PM EST

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul’s iconic Blue Mosque on Saturday but didn’t stop to pray, as he focused more on bolstering ties with Orthodox patriarchs and promoting courageous steps for Eastern and Western churches to be united.

READ MORE: Pope joins Eastern and Western patriarchs at historic Christian site in Turkey to pray for unity

Leo took his shoes off and, in his white socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, looking up at its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam pointed them out to him.

The Vatican had said Leo would observe a “brief moment of silent prayer” in the mosque, but he didn’t. An imam of the mo

See Full Page