Vatican City, October 17, 2025 – In a landmark gesture of interfaith harmony, the Vatican Apostolic Library – the intellectual heart of the Catholic Church for over five centuries – has inaugurated a dedicated Muslim prayer room within its historic walls. This modest yet profound addition, featuring a simple carpeted space for Islamic worship, underscores the Vatican's evolving commitment to inclusivity at a time when global religious tensions remain high. The initiative, prompted by visiting Islamic scholars, stands in stark contrast to the rigid exclusionary policies governing Islam's holiest city, Mecca, highlighting divergent approaches to religious pluralism in the world's major faiths.
The Vatican Apostolic Library, founded in 1475 by Pope Sixtus IV, has long been revered as a bastion of knowledge and scholarship. Housed in a Renaissance palace overlooking St. Peter's Square, it serves as the epicenter of Catholic intellectual life, preserving treasures that span millennia. With an estimated 80,000 manuscripts, 50,000 archival items, and nearly two million printed books, the library's collection rivals those of the world's premier institutions. Among its crown jewels are illuminated Bibles from the 4th century, rare incunabula from the dawn of printing, and papal bulls dating back to the early Middle Ages. The facility also safeguards hundreds of thousands of coins, medals, engravings, and prints, making it a veritable museum of human civilization.
The prayer room's creation stemmed from a straightforward request during a recent scholarly exchange. Islamic experts visiting to study ancient Quranic manuscripts asked for "a room with a carpet to pray on," aligning with the five daily Islamic prayers (Salah). Library staff promptly accommodated the need, transforming a quiet alcove into a serene space oriented toward Mecca. This gesture, though small, symbolizes a broader shift in Vatican policy under Pope Francis, who has prioritized dialogue with Islam since his 2019 Document on Human Fraternity signed with Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb.
Giacomo Cardinali, Vice Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library, shared details of the initiative in an exclusive interview with Italy's leading daily, La Repubblica. "Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray on, and we gave it to them," Cardinali explained. "We have incredible ancient Korans in our collection – fragments from the 7th and 8th centuries that predate many surviving copies elsewhere. It's only fitting that our guests can fulfill their religious duties while engaging with these texts."
Cardinali emphasized the library's universal character, positioning it as a bridge across cultures. "We are a universal library, with Arabic, Jewish, and Ethiopian collections, as well as unique Chinese pieces," he noted. "Years ago, we discovered that we had the oldest medieval Japanese archive outside of Japan – a cache of 13th-century scrolls acquired through Jesuit missionaries." This diversity reflects the Vatican's historical role as a global crossroads. During the Renaissance, popes like Nicholas V amassed Arabic scientific treatises, preserving works by scholars such as Avicenna and Averroes that might otherwise have been lost. Today, the library hosts over 1,000 researchers annually from 80 countries, fostering collaborations that transcend religious boundaries.
The prayer room, located on the library's second floor near the Oriental Manuscripts Section, features a high-quality wool carpet imported from Turkey, prayer rugs for multiple users, and subtle Islamic geometric motifs on the walls. It operates during library hours (9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday) and includes a qibla compass for precise orientation. No conversion of sacred Catholic space was required; the area was repurposed from a disused storage room. Security measures ensure privacy, with access granted via keycard to verified scholars.
This development arrives amid a surge in interfaith initiatives at the Vatican. In 2024 alone, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue hosted 15 Muslim delegations, including joint workshops on climate change and peacebuilding. Pope Francis, who visited the UAE in 2019 – the first pontiff to do so – has repeatedly called for "fraternity" between Christians and Muslims. The library's prayer room builds on precedents: since 2016, a similar space has existed in the Vatican's press office for journalists, and St. Peter's Basilica informally allows Muslim prayer in its side chapels during off-hours.
Scholars hailed the move as transformative. Dr. Aisha Rahman, a Quranic paleographer from Al-Azhar University in Cairo who helped inaugurate the room, told Vatican News, "This carpet isn't just fabric; it's a thread weaving our faiths together. Studying the Vatican's Umayyad-era Quran fragments here feels like coming home." Her team, comprising five Egyptian and Indonesian experts, spent two weeks digitizing 12th-century Persian illuminated Korans, crediting the prayer facility for boosting their productivity.
Yet, this Vatican openness sharply contrasts with the policies in Mecca, Saudi Arabia – Islam's holiest city and birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. Encircled by the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram), Mecca draws nine million pilgrims annually for Hajj and Umrah, generating $12 billion for the Saudi economy in 2024 alone. However, under strict Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia law, non-Muslims are categorically banned from entering the city's boundaries, marked by checkpoints 20 kilometers outward.
Saudi law enforces this prohibition rigorously: non-Muslims caught inside face fines up to 100,000 Saudi riyals ($26,600), imprisonment for up to two years, and immediate deportation. In 2023, authorities expelled 47 violators, including unwitting tourists via GPS-tracked apps on rental cars. The rationale, rooted in hadiths emphasizing Mecca's sanctity, views the city as a "Muslim-only preserve." Exceptions are rare; even diplomatic staff are housed outside city limits.
This disparity has fueled global debate. "The Vatican's embrace versus Mecca's exclusion exemplifies faith's dual paths," opined Dr. Fatima Al-Sayed, a Saudi-born interfaith expert at Georgetown University. "While the Vatican invites 1.8 billion non-Catholics to its doors yearly, Mecca's ban alienates 5.7 billion non-Muslims. It's a missed opportunity for dawah (Islamic outreach)." Critics, including Human Rights Watch, argue the policy discriminates, violating UN conventions on religious freedom. Saudi officials counter that Hajj's intensity – with 2.5 million pilgrims crowding 356,000 square meters – necessitates controls for safety and reverence.
Historically, Mecca's restrictions trace to the 7th century, when Caliph Umar expelled non-Muslims post-conquest. Ottoman sultans upheld them, as did modern Saudi founders in 1925. Reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have liberalized other areas – women driving since 2018, cinemas reopening – but Mecca remains untouched. A 2024 fatwa from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research reaffirmed the ban, citing Quranic verses like Surah Al-Tawbah 9:28.
The Vatican's initiative has ripple effects. Similar prayer rooms now operate in the British Museum and Louvre, inspired by Vatican diplomacy. In response, the Vatican extended invitations to Saudi scholars for a 2026 symposium on shared Abrahamic manuscripts. Cardinali envisions expansion: "Why stop at a carpet? Perhaps a multifaith lounge next."
As sunset prayers echoed softly in the Vatican library last week, Cardinali reflected: "Knowledge knows no creed. Here, a Muslim prostrates before God amid Catholic tomes – proof that wisdom unites." With 550 years of history evolving before our eyes, the Vatican Apostolic Library reaffirms its role not just as guardian of the past, but architect of a pluralistic future.
