Colombia’s President Petro meets with Pontiff, discusses land reform
July 03, 2026
Pope Leo XIV received President Gustavo Petro of Colombia on July 2, a month before a new Colombian president is scheduled to take office.
In a social media post, President Petro said that he “asked Pope Leo XIV to help us protect the peasant communities that are beneficiaries of the agrarian reform, who are already being hit by the mafias that had recovered their illicit assets through corruption.”
“When we went for the seized land, we found it once again occupied by mafia frontmen and mafiosos directly,” the president continued. “Some of those close to these mafias want to once again lead the ministry of agriculture.”
President Petro subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Msgr. Daniel Pacho, Undersecretary for the Multilateral Sector of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations.
“During the cordial discussions at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was expressed for the good relations between Colombia and the Holy See, marked by positive and ongoing cooperation between the Church and the State in promoting peace, reconciliation, and national unity,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement. “The conversation then turned to the socio-political situation in Colombia and the wider region, with particular attention given to the repercussions of conflicts, international organized crime, and climate change.”
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