Overview

• During a state visit to the Quirinale, Pope Leone XIV met privately with President Sergio Mattarella for over 30 minutes before issuing public appeals.
• The Pope praised humanitarian operations for Gaza backed by Palazzo Chigi and Rome’s Bambino Gesù hospital.
• He urged protection of life in all its phases and called for broader access to medical care and medicines.
• He pressed for policies that support families in the face of Italy’s falling birth rate through dignified work attentive to maternity and paternity.
• Both leaders emphasized an open stance toward migrants, condemned human trafficking, and called for multilateral diplomacy including a two-state solution for the Middle East and continued concern over Russia’s war on Ukraine.