Palestinian Pres. Abbas honors Pope Francis at Rome tomb, praises Gaza aid & state recognition. Meets Pope Leo XIV Nov 6 amid truce.
Newsroom (05/11/2025, Gaudium Press ) Upon arriving in Rome, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made a poignant stop at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray at the tomb of the late Pope Francis. “I came to him because I cannot forget what he did for the Palestinian people,” Abbas told reporters outside the basilica. On November 6, he is scheduled to meet Pope Leo XIV in a private audience at the Vatican.
President Mahmoud Abbas, shortly after landing in Rome, visited the tomb of Pope Francis at Santa Maria Maggiore for a moment of reflection. Under tight security, Abbas, accompanied by Father Ibrahim Faltas—former vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land—and his entourage, entered the papal basilica at 4:30 p.m. and emerged 15 minutes later. He placed a floral tribute on the marble sepulcher inscribed Franciscus.
Statement to the Press
Speaking to journalists gathered on the basilica’s steps, Abbas said: “I came to Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone having to ask him to do so.” The visit comes nearly one month after a ceasefire agreement took effect in the Gaza Strip.
A Historic Moment with Francis and Peres
Eleven years ago, Abbas joined Pope Francis and then-Israeli President Shimon Peres for a historic prayer meeting in the Vatican Gardens, where they planted an olive tree as a symbol of peace. The event, also attended by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, was commemorated on its 10th anniversary by Pope Francis at the same site on June 7, 2024.
Abbas met Pope Francis multiple times over the years, with frequent phone calls following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza. Their last in-person audience, on December 12, 2024, underscored the urgent need to address Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis and reaffirmed the two-state solution as achievable only through dialogue and diplomacy.
Tomorrow’s Audience with Pope Leo XIV
Abbas last spoke with Pope Leo XIV by phone on July 21, focusing on developments in the Gaza conflict and violence in the West Bank. A Vatican press office statement from that day noted the Pope’s renewed call for full respect of international humanitarian law, emphasizing the protection of civilians and sacred sites, and condemning the indiscriminate use of force and forced population transfers.
During the call, Leo XIV also marked the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on June 26, 2015, and entered into force on January 2, 2016.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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