READ MORE: Pope joins Eastern and Western patriarchs at historic Christian site in Turkey to pray for unity<\/a><\/p>\nLeo took his shoes off and, in his white socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, looking up at its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam pointed them out to him.<\/p>\n
The Vatican had said Leo would observe a \u201cbrief moment of silent prayer\u201d in the mosque, but he didn\u2019t. An imam of the mosque, Asgin Tunca, said he had invited Leo to pray, since the mosque was \u201cAllah\u2019s house,\u201d but the pope declined.<\/p>\n
Later, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo, history\u2019s first American pope, was following in the footsteps of his\u00a0recent predecessors,\u00a0who all made high-profile visits to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as it is officially known, in a gesture of respect to Turkey\u2019s Muslim majority.<\/p>\n
Papal visits to Blue Mosque often raise questions<\/p>\n
But the visits have always raised questions about whether the pope would pray in the Muslim house of worship, or at the very least pause to gather thoughts in a meditative silence.<\/p>\n
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey in 2006, tensions were high because Benedict had offended many in the Muslim world a few months earlier with a speech in Regensburg, Germany that was widely interpreted as linking Islam and violence.<\/p>\n
The Vatican added a visit to the Blue Mosque at the last minute in a bid to reach out to Muslims. He observed a moment of silent prayer, head bowed, as the imam prayed next to him, facing east.<\/p>\n
Benedict later thanked him \u201cfor this moment of prayer\u201d for what was only the second time a pope had visited a mosque, after St. John Paul II visited one briefly in Syria in 2001.<\/p>\n
There were no doubts in 2014 when Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque: He stood for two minutes of silent prayer facing east, his head bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him. The Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, told the pope afterwards, \u201cMay God accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Leo, though, even the Vatican seemed caught off guard by his decision not to pray. The Holy See had to correct the official record of the visit after it originally kept the planned reference to him pausing for prayer.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after the visit, the imam Tunca said he had told the pope: \u201cIt\u2019s not my house, not your house, (it\u2019s the) house of Allah.\u201d He said he invited Leo to worship \u201cBut he said, \u2018That\u2019s OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel (the) atmosphere of the mosque, I think. And was very pleased,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A joint declaration on Easter talks<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, Leo prayed with the spiritual leader of the world\u2019s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew, at the patriarchal church of Saint George.<\/p>\n
There, they prayed the doxology, a hymn of praise and glory to God, and signed a joint declaration vowing to take courageous steps on the path to unity including to find a common date for Easter.<\/p>\n
Eastern and Western churches split in the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope. While ties have warmed, they remain divided and other schisms have formed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating together the Feast of Feasts every year,\u201d the joint statement said, referring to Easter.<\/p>\n
The Vatican said in his remarks to the patriarchs gathered, Leo pointed to the next Holy Year to be celebrated by Christians, in 2033 on the anniversary of Christ\u2019s crucifixion, and invited them to go to Jerusalem on \u201ca journey that leads to full unity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo\u2019s final event was a Catholic Mass in Istanbul\u2019s Volkswagen Arena for the country\u2019s Catholic community, who number 33,000 in a country of more than 85 million people, most of whom are Sunni Muslim.<\/p>\n
Renato Marai was among a group of 26 visitors from Florence, Italy, who traveled to Istanbul to see the pope. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see him on his first foreign trip, a really important moment for our group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tarcin Unlu, meanwhile, was among many Turkish attendees, a recent convert to Christianity from Islam. \u201cI became Christian because I thought it was the best religion for me but my family is definitely not happy,\u201d Unlu said.<\/p>\n
Her friend, Rodrick Nuel, originally from Nigeria\u2019s Biafra region but now living in northern Cyprus, said the papal visit sent a \u201ca powerful message for the global Christian community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, as Turkey is 99.9% Muslim and just 0.1% Christian, it shows the pope is reaching out to other religions as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Airbus software update doesn\u2019t spare pope<\/p>\n
While Leo was focusing on bolstering relations with Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, trip organizers were dealing with more mundane issues.<\/p>\n
Leo\u2019s ITA Airways Airbus A320neo charter was among those caught up in the worldwide Airbus software update, ordered by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The order came after an analysis found the computer code may have contributed to a sudden drop in the\u00a0altitude of a JetBlue plane\u00a0last month.<\/p>\n
The Vatican spokesman, Bruni, said the necessary monitor to update the aircraft was on its way to Istanbul from Rome along with the technician who would install it.<\/p>\n
Leo is scheduled to fly from Istanbul to Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday afternoon for the second leg of his inaugural trip as pope.<\/p>\n
Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.<\/p>\n
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