Media list potential countries for new Pope's first visit - Is Ukraine among them?
Photo: Pope Leo XIV (Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV may visit Ukraine on his first foreign trip - Türkiye and Peru are also under consideration, La Repubblica reports.
Visit to Ukraine
According to the media outlet, one of the potential countries for the Pope's first visit could be Ukraine, especially following a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During the call, Zelenskyy extended an invitation to the Pope to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. This marks the first official invitation for the new pontiff.
The media recalls that Pope Francis had also planned to visit Kyiv. Now, it falls to Pope Leo to decide whether to accept the invitation - and when.
Nonetheless, the first indication of his geopolitical vision will be seen during the audience he will grant to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.
Visit to Türkiye
According to the media, the Pope's first trip abroad might be to Nicaea, Türkiye, to mark the anniversary of the Council of 325 AD. However, a diplomatic issue needs to be resolved: if Pope Francis, who had previously made a state visit to Türkiye, were to accompany the trip, some aspects might be simplified, particularly due to his health condition. Since this is a new Pope, it must be decided whether a stop in Ankara would be appropriate in addition to Nicaea.
Visit to Peru
Apart from Ukraine and Türkiye, Peru is another possible destination for the Pope's first foreign visit. Recently, a Portuguese journalist asked the Pope whether he planned to visit the Fatima Shrine - a place tied to popular devotion and 20th-century political history. The Pope replied, speaking in the third person, that "Cardinal Prevost had planned to go, but those plans have changed." What a cardinal plans and what the Pope does, he said, are two different things.
New Pope
Pope Francis passed away on April 21. He had been severely ill since the beginning of the year and spent more than a month being treated for pneumonia. He died on Easter Monday from a stroke. The funeral took place on April 26.
The conclave to elect a new Pope began on May 7, and on the second day, May 8, a new pontiff was chosen. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected, becoming the first American Pope.
He chose the papal name Leo XIV, and his official enthronement ceremony will take place on May 18.
