(Photo ALBERTO PIZZOLI)
Pope Leo XIV refused to join Islamic prayers in a mosque in Turkey during his first foreign trip, a video shows.
For his first trip abroad as pope, Leo is visiting Turkey and Lebanon from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, according to the Associated Press (AP).
While visiting the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Saturday, the pope removed his shoes, a customary sign of respect in mosques. Leo declined the offer to join the imam in prayer in “Allah’s house,” according to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR).
A video from Reuters shows Leo joking with one of the mosque’s guides.
The Vatican reportedly said before the visit that Leo would offer a “brief moment of silent prayer.”
“The pope experienced his visit to the mosque in silence, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, the NCR reported.
Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis participated in silent prayers at the Blue Mosque, with Benedict bowing his head as an imam prayed beside him. Francis prayed with his eyes closed while facing east, hands clasped in front of him, according to NCR.
Leo held a prayer service Friday commemorating the 1,700-year anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea near the ruins of the ancient basilica in İznik, modern-day Nicaea, according to a statement from the Vatican.
The pope celebrated the anniversary by acknowledging the “violence and conflict” in the world, and he said that now is “a precious opportunity to ask ourselves who Jesus Christ is in the lives of men and women today, and who he is for each one of us personally.”
Upon entering the last stop of his tour in Lebanon, the pope was celebrated in the rain upon his arrival.
A video shared by One TV shows people welcoming the pope by throwing brown rice on his vehicle as he approached the presidential palace.
The streets were filled with people dressed in traditional clothing as they danced, played drums and rode horses. Nearby crowds carried white umbrellas and huddled together to see the spectacle.
During his second day in Lebanon, the pope said Christians can maintain hope “even when surrounded by the sound of weapons” by looking to the Virgin Mary as an example of faith despite uncertainty, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).
“Our faith is an anchor in heaven,” the pope said, according to CNA. “Hold fast to the rope.”
The pope had faced earlier criticism for attending the Blue Mosque before laying a wreath at the grave of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Hamas Atrocities, an account documenting attacks on Israel, said Atatürk “completed the destruction of Anatolia’s ancient Christian communities.”
