ISTANBUL – As he continues to develop his own personal style in his new role as pope, Leo XIV Saturday paid a brief visit to Istanbul’s Sultan Ahmed Mosque, where he had a brief tour but did not pray.

The pope arrived at Sultan Ahmed, called the “Blue Mosque” due to the color of its ornate inner décor, at 9 a.m. local time.

He was welcomed by Turkey’s minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy; the provincial mufti of Istanbul, Emrullah Tuncel; and the Grand Imam of Sultan Ahmed, Kurra Hafız Fatih Kaya.

After removing his shoes prior to entering the mosque, displaying a pair of white socks, he was given a brief tour of the inside of the mosque, asking questions about the architecture and design.

However, unlike his previous two predecessors, he chose not to pray during the brief visit, opting for an explanation of the mosque instead.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited the Blue Mosque in November 2006, he paused to pray while inside in what was widely was considered a historic and deeply symbolic moment, as it came two months after he received intense backlash from the Islamic community due to offensive remarks in a September 2006 speech in Regensburg.

Benedict had quoted a speech about Islam from the late 14th century, made by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, in which he said, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

The quote caused widespread controversy and provoked demonstrations and protest from Islamic leaders worldwide.

Benedict’s prayer at the mosque two months later was seen as a significant moment of rapprochement, and a gesture of goodwill in attempting to restore good relations with the world of Islam.

Pope Francis, who made dialogue with Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, also observed a moment of silent prayer inside the Blue Mosque during his visit to Turkey in 2014.

Leo, however, took a different approach, saying he preferred to simply visit the mosque instead.

Aşgın Musa Tunca, the muezzin, the Muslim man who recites the adhan, the call to prayer, at the Sultan Ahmed said he had asked Pope Leo if he wanted to pray, saying it was also his house to worship in if he wanted.

“He said, this is the house of Allah! It’s not my house, it’s not your house, it’s the house of Allah,” Tunca told members of the Vatican press corps present at the event.

Tunca said he told the pope that, “if you want you can worship here, but he said, ‘that’s okay’. He wanted to see the mosque, to feel the atmosphere of the mosque, and I think he was very pleased with the atmosphere.”

No one prayed during the brief visit, he said, but said that for him personally, the most important gesture is to come together and get to know one another.

“We are the children of Adam and Eve. Allah said in the Koran, I created you from a single male and female, and I made you peoples and tribes, to come together to get to know each other,” he said.

“This is very important,” Tunca said, saying, “I look at the matter from that point of view, we should meet, we should get to know each other. That’s why I’m very happy to meet him here.”

Pope Leo after visiting the mosque was driven to the Syriac Orthodox church of Mor Ephrem, where he held a private meeting with the leaders of local Christian churches and communities.

He was welcomed to the church by Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

After taking a group picture and singing an opening prayer, the doors were closed, and the private discussion began among the roughly 20-25 representatives present.

Following the private discussion, Pope Leo and Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II exchanged gifts, and Leo signed a guestbook, voicing gratitude for the occasion.

“On the historic occasion in which we celebrate 1700 years since the Ecumenical Council of Nicea, we gather to renew our faith in Jesus Christ true God and true man, celebrating the faith we share together,” the pope said.

He asked for God’s blessings “on all who have gathered here and on all the communities they represent.”

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