Pope Leo XIV has visited Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque on the third day of his trip to Turkiye , his first known visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship.

The first US pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque early on Saturday and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul.

Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque’s lead muezzin – the official who leads the daily calls to prayer.

“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 who calls the faithful to prayer, told reporters.

Tunca said after the mosque visit that he asked

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