The Pope visits Istanbul’s blue mosque to meet with Turkish religious leaders

Pope Leo xiv visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday but did not stop to pray, as he opened an intense day of meetings and liturgies with Turkish Christian leaders, where he emphasized the need for Christians to come together.

Leo took off his shoes, and, in his white socks, he looked at the 17th century mosque, looking up at its top with tons of pumpkins and Arabic writings on its columns as the imam pointed them out to him.

The Vatican said Leo would observe a “short moment of silent prayer” at the mosque, but he did not. The Imam of the mosque, in Asgen Tuca, said that he asked Leo to pray, because Mayyamu was the house of Allah, but the Pope refused.

Over time, said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, that: “The Pope received his visit to the mosque quietly, in a spirit of meditation and listening, with deep respect at that time and those who gathered there in prayer.”

The Vatican then sent a revised version of its bulletin on the trip, removing the “scheduled moment of silent prayer”, without further explanation.

Leo, the first American pope, followed in the footsteps of the latter, they all visited the highest mosques, because it was officially known, in an act of respect for the Muslims of Turlim.

Papal visits to the Blue Mosque often raise questions

Other visits always raise questions about whether the pope will pray in the mosque, or at least take a moment to gather thoughts in the silence of meditation.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in 2006, tensions were high because Benedict had angered many in the Muslim world a few months earlier with a speech in Regensburg, Germany that he said linked Islam to violence.

The Vatican added a visit the blue mosque It was a last-minute bid to reach out to Muslims, and Benedict was warmly received. He saw a moment of silent prayer, head bowed, as the Imam prayed beside him, facing east.

KanEdict later thanked him for “this moment of prayer” Because it was only the second time the Pope had visited the mosque, after St. John Paul II made a brief visit to Syria in 2001.

There was no doubt in 2014 that Pope Francis visit the blue mosque: He stood for two minutes in silent prayer facing the east, his head bowed, his eyes closed and closed, until he was killed. The Mahti Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, told the Pope afterwards, “May God accept it.”

Speaking to reporters after the visit, Imam Tucaka said he told Leo: “It’s not my house, not your house, (it’s a house),” he said) the house of Allah, “he said). He said he told the Pope: “‘If you want, you can pray here,’ I said. But he said, ‘Okay.'”

“He wanted to see the mosques, he wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And he was very happy,” he said.

There was another change in the official schedule, after the Vatican said the Head of Religious Affairs of the Tiyanet Ahadule for Religions will accompany Leo to the Mosque. He did not come and the spokesman from Diyanet said it was not appropriate, because he welcomed Leo in Ankara.

Hagia Sophia left the trip

Past popes have also visited nearby Hagia Sophia Landmark, and one of the most important historical sites in Christianity and a designated national heritage site.

But Leo left the tour on his first trip as pope. In July 2020, Turkey turned Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque, a move that drew International Criticismincluding the Vatican.

After visiting mosques, Leo held a private meeting with Turkish leaders at the Syriac Orthodox Church in Sy Ephemrem Church. In the afternoon, he is expected to pray with the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew, at the Church of the Firstborn of Saint George.

There, they had to sign a joint statement. The Vatican said that when its patriarchs were told, they gathered and “Leo reminded them” that division among Christians is an obstacle to their trial. ”

He revealed the next Holy Year to be celebrated by Christians, in 2033 on the anniversary of Christ, and invited them to go to Jerusalem “on a journey that leads to full unity.”

Leo was ending the day with malical malical in Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena for the Catholic community in the country, which seats 33,000 in a country of more than 85 million people, most of whom are Muslims.

Airbus software updates don’t save the pope

While Leo focused on strengthening relations with Orthodox Muslims and Muslims, the organizers of the trip were dealing with many additional problems.

Leo’s Ita Airways Airbus A320Neo Charter was among those caught Global Software Update WorldbusThis has been approved by the European Union Aviation Parliament Agency. The order comes after an analysis found that a computer code may have contributed to the sudden drop in flight altitude of Jeetblue last month.

The spokesman for the Vatican, Matteo Bruni, said on Saturday that the ITA was working on this issue. He said the part needed to restore the plane was on its way to Istanbul and the technician to install it.

Leo is scheduled to fly from Istanbul to Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday afternoon for its second leg Inaugural journeys as Pope.