Pope Leo XIV pushed back against speculation surrounding his visit to Istanbul’s iconic Blue Mosque during his recent trip to Turkey, but stopped short of saying whether he prayed there.
“Who said that I didn’t pray?” the pope asked in response to a question posed by a reporter as he left the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo Dec. 9 to return to the Vatican.
“It could be that I am praying right now,” he continued. “As a matter of fact, I prefer to pray in a Catholic church in the presence of the most holy sacrament.”
“That so much was made about that moment seemed to me a bit curious,” he said.
The Vatican later said that Leo lived his experience of the mosque “in a spirit of contemplation and listening.”
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Justin McLellan, where this article originally appeared.
