The formalization of his visit to Greece was made by Pope Francis.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church announced that he will visit our country, while he will also travel to Cyprus and Malta.
As it had become known, the pope accepted the official invitation of the President of the Hellenic Republic, with his visit most likely to take place in September.
The invitation was addressed to a telephone communication between Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Pope Francis, according to information, about a year ago.
The background of the visit
As the column “Vimatodotis” wrote, the President had also informed Archbishop Ieronymos that she had invited the Pope to Greece.
But for the Pope to come to Greece (for the third time since his tenure began) there was a political-religious background.
The President of the Republic had called the head of the Roman Catholic Church months ago on the occasion of the events for the 200th anniversary of the Greek revolution, but also the decision of the Turkish government and personally of Tayyip Erdogan to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Ms. Sakellaropoulou had then thanked the Pope for his supportive statements, asking him to use all his influence to raise international awareness so that the Turkish leadership could reverse its decision and reinstate Hagia Sophia to the status of a protected monument:
“This decision deeply hurts those who believe that this supreme symbol of Christianity belongs to humanity and the world cultural heritage and diverts Turkey from the values of the secular state and the principles of tolerance and pluralism,” the President said at the time.
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