Pope Leo XIV on Thursday morning welcomed Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, at the Vatican, where the two leaders discussed the “urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza.”
The meeting marked their first in-person encounter, as prior communications had been limited to phone conversations.
According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, the discussion was “cordial” and included dialogue on the pressing need to “end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution.”
President Abbas had arrived in Rome on Wednesday afternoon, and his first act was a visit to the Basilica of St Mary Major to pay respects at Pope Francis’ tomb.
Speaking to journalists gathered on the church steps, he said, “I came to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and for the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone having to ask him to do so.”
Accompanied by Egyptian Franciscan friar Ibrahim Faltas, a former Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, President Abbas spent about fifteen minutes at the tomb, laying a bouquet of flowers on the simple marble marker inscribed with the name Franciscus.
His visit to the Vatican coincided with the 10th anniversary of the ‘Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine,’ signed on 26 June 2015.
The accord underscores both parties’ commitment to Palestinian self-determination and the two-state solution, while also highlighting Jerusalem’s symbolic and spiritual significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.
