"No," was the slightly disappointed answer given by the muezzin of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Askin Musa Tunca, after the Pope's visit on Saturday morning.
Together with the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, and the Mufti of Istanbul, Emrullah Tuncel, he had guided the distinguished guest from Rome through the magnificent mosque with its blue tiles and golden Koran quotations for just under half an hour.
"I had been told beforehand that the Pope might want to pray, so I offered to do so," explained Tuncel, dressed in a dark suit unlike his companions.
"But he said no, he just wanted to see the mosque." Leo thus deviated from his predecessors Benedict XIV and Francis, who had both performed silent prayers during their visits to the important mosque in Istanbul in 2006 and 2014 respectively.
To avoid any misunderstandings, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni subsequently explained that the Pope had visited the mosque "in silence, in a spirit of recollection and with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there to pray".
Tunca also denied that he did not know whether Leo XIV had perhaps prayed inside. And:"Allah says in the Koran, 'I have created you as man and woman, as peoples and tribes, so that you may come together and get to know each other'," the Islamic call to prayer quoted the Holy Book of Muslims. "I look at the visit from this perspective: we should all meet and get to know each other, so I am very happy to have met the Pope here today."
Slight surprise
Apparently, Leo's behaviour in the mosque was not only a slight surprise to his hosts: the Vatican media apparatus seemed momentarily confused. A prepared and later disseminated announcement that the Pope had had a "brief moment of prayer" was quickly denied by Vatican spokesperson Bruni.
Despite such media and diplomatic bumps in the road: There is no doubt that Leo XIV's visit was a sign of respect and honour for the majority religion of his host country.
As prescribed, the Pope removed his black shoes at the entrance to the house of prayer, which was carpeted in light brown, and walked through the huge room in white socks. On this day, he dispensed with the red mozzetta that he wears around his shoulders, especially when appearing as the head of the 1.4 billion Catholics.
Nodding in a friendly manner, visibly impressed and smiling with interest, he followed the explanations in English about the architectural details of the mosque, which was built in the early 17th century, while two cats roamed through the house of prayer and a crow flew through the high dome.
In particular, his three Muslim hosts must have drawn his attention to Koran suras 2 and 19, which are emblazoned beneath the countless golden inscriptions on the blue-tiled walls: They are about the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. Muslims regard him as a prophet.
The head of the Catholics then had another "home game" among Christians: he visited the Mor Ephrem Church of the Syrian Orthodox faithful, where he met with representatives of several Christian churches and denominations.
A prayer meeting with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I is also scheduled, at which the signing of a joint declaration on Christian unity is planned.