Pope Francesco, the leader of the Catholic Church, made his first statement about the decision to convert Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.
Pope Franceso said he was “deeply hurt” by the decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Reuters quoted him as saying.
Performing his weekly prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said: “My Mind is in Istanbul. I think about Hagia Sophia and I feel deep pain.”