Pope Leo XIV may visit Baku

Azerbaijan hopes that Pope Leo XIV will visit Baku to attend the opening ceremony of the country’s second Catholic church, named after Saint John Paul II.

According to TodayPress TV, citing Report, this was stated by Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, in an interview with Jeffrey Sachs.

“Taking this opportunity, I would like to address all Christians around the world, particularly members of the Catholic faith, and inform them that a second Catholic church is being built in Baku. The first is already fully operational, while construction of the second is being carried out with a donation from the Azerbaijani government. We hope that Pope Leo XIV himself will be able to attend the opening ceremony of this church,” Hajiyev said.

According to him, close relations and effective cooperation have been established between Azerbaijan and the Holy See.

“We truly have great respect for Pope Leo XIV. President Ilham Aliyev has invited him to visit Azerbaijan. Two Roman Pontiffs — John Paul II in 2002 and Francis in 2016 — have visited Azerbaijan,” Hajiyev noted.

Hajiyev also expressed gratitude to the Holy See for providing Azerbaijan with the opportunity to contribute to the restoration of ancient Christian catacombs located within Vatican territory.

He emphasised that official Baku consistently advocates dialogue among civilisations and believes that Azerbaijan could serve as a venue for an international conference on this subject. According to him, the Vatican is one of Azerbaijan’s important partners in this field.

It should be recalled that, for the construction of the church, the Baku City Executive Authority issued an order dated May 1, 2024, allocating a 0.17-hectare plot of land at 722 Abbas Mirza Sharifzadeh Street in the Yasamal district of the capital for the use of the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan.

The land allocation for the construction of the Church of Saint John Paul II and the groundbreaking ceremony for the new place of worship took place in December 2024.