ISTANBUL (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV refused to pray inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, breaking recent precedent and apparently confusing Vatican officials.

During his first major international trip to Turkey on the occasion of the 1,700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Leo was given a tour through the famous mosque built in the 17th century.

He was shown around the massive complex, which can hold up to 10,000 people, by the mosque’s imam and the mufti of Istanbul.

The pope removed his shoes upon entering the mosque, which is customary, walking through the building in white socks. However, when Imam Askin Musa Tunca asked the Roman Pontiff if he would like to say a silent prayer, he refused, saying he preferred to just visit the mosque.

Leo broke with precedent from his two predecessors. Pope Benedict XVI had engaged in a moment of silent “recollection” when visiting in 2006, and Pope Francis conducted a “sincere prayer” in the mosque after inviting the mufti to pray with him during his 2014 visit, calling himself a “pilgrim.”

The Vatican appeared surprised at Leo’s decision, as the pope may have broken from protocol. Three hours after the visit, the Holy See released a press statement stating that the prayer inside the mosque had indeed occurred. The seemingly pre-written press release was later rescinded, with the Vatican’s press office stating that it had been published in error.

The Holy See Press Office said Leo did the tour through the mosque “in a spirit of reflection and listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer.”

During his trip to Turkey, Leo also visited the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of modern Turkey, in Ankara. Atatürk is known for leading the Turkish nationalist movement and for his efforts in secularizing the country. However, Atatürk was also responsible for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of tens of thousands of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian Christians from Anatolia after the First World War.

LifeSiteNews CEO John-Henry Westen wrote on X: “Pope Leo XIV has just laid a wreath at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — the leader whose regime completed the destruction of Anatolia’s ancient Christian communities after the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian genocides. Yes, foreign dignitaries usually perform this ritual. But should a Pope honor the architect of an anti-Christian genocide?”

The Blue Mosque, officially called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, after the head of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617, is located directly across from the famous Hagia Sophia.

However, Leo chose not to visit the former Byzantine church, unlike his predecessors. The Hagia Sophia was a Byzantine cathedral that was turned into a mosque after the Christian Byzantine Empire fell to the Muslim Ottoman Empire in 1453.

It was repurposed as a museum in 1934 under President Atatürk, but turned back into a mosque in 2020 by the current Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan despite pushback from Christians.