NY mayor meets with Vatican’s Secretary of State, invites Pope to visit
July 23, 2014
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City met in Rome with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and invited Pope Francis to visit the city during his potential September 2015 visit to the United States.
The mayor said it was “such an honor to spend time with him and to relate to him how important it would be for the people of New York City to have the Pope visit,” according to a Zenit report. “We understand that no one has a more difficult schedule in the world than the Pope and nothing definitive was decided in the meeting, but Cardinal Parolin was very open to the request.”
“We spoke a lot about immigration, about the immigration crisis in Central America now affecting the United States,” he added.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the mayor, who was not raised Catholic, said that “it's not something where I’m going to become a practicing Catholic, but it’s something that means a lot to me personally.”
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Further information:
- De Blasio Asks Vatican for a Pope Francis New York City Visit (Wall Street Journal)
- Mayor of New York Visits Vatican, Pitches for Pope to Visit City in 2015 (Zenit)
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