Pope Leo XIV to visit Blue Mosque in Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit the Sultan Ahmet Mosque - also known as the Blue Mosque - in Istanbul on Saturday during his first foreign trip to Türkiye.

After a guided tour of the building in the heart of the city, a silent prayer is planned. The head of the Catholic Church is to be accompanied by the head of the Turkish state religious authority.

However, unlike his two predecessors during their trips to Türkiye, Leo does not plan to visit the nearby Hagia Sophia. The former cathedral was converted into a mosque in 2020 after having been a museum since 1934.

A meeting with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I is planned for the afternoon. They intend to sign a joint declaration together.

The Orthodox Churches have been independent since the Great Schism almost 1,000 years ago when, in 1054, the heads of the Eastern Church in Byzantium and the Western Church in Rome excommunicated each other.

Leo and Bartholomew now want to send a signal of rapprochement between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. A large Mass is also scheduled for the evening.