Pope Francis' desire to visit India remained unfulfilled

New Delhi: Pope Francis’ desire to visit India remained unfulfilled as his 12-year-long papacy came to its end with his demise on Monday.

“Deeply pained by the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. In this hour of grief and remembrance, my heartfelt condolences to the global Catholic community,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X as he led his government in condoling the demise of the pontiff. He wrote that Pope Francis would always be remembered “as a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage by millions across the world”.

He also posted pictures of himself with the Pope.

Pope Francis had stated on October 2, 2016, that it had almost been certain that he would visit India and Bangladesh in 2017 as part of a tour to Asia.

The proposed papal visit, however, could not take place, with New Delhi citing difficulties in scheduling it.

The Pope had visited two other South Asian nations – Myanmar and Bangladesh – from November 27 to December 2, 2017, but not India.

During the Lok Sabha elections in April-May 2024, the prime minister had told a TV channel that Pope Francis might plan a visit to India in 2025. The hope of the Catholics in India for a papal visit, however, remained unfulfilled.

Pope John Paul II was the last pontiff to visit India. He had visited as many as 14 cities across the length and breadth of India during his 10-day tour in February 1986. He had again visited India in November 1999, but his itinerary had then been limited to New Delhi only. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, had given India a miss during his eight-year-long papacy.

Modi on Monday recalled his meetings with Pope Francis.

“I fondly recall my meetings with him and was greatly inspired by his commitment to inclusive and all-round development. His affection for the people of India will always be cherished. May his soul find eternal peace in God’s embrace,” the prime minister wrote on X.

He had first met Pope Francis in the Vatican on October 30, 2021, during a visit to Rome for the G-20 summit. He had invited the Pope to visit India and gifted him a silver candlestand and a book on the commitment to the environment. The pontiff had reciprocated by gifting the prime minister a bronze plaque with the inscription “The desert will become a Garden”. He had also gifted Modi volumes of papal documents, his message for World Day of Peace and the document on Human Fraternity, which he and Grand Imam of Al Azhar had signed in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019.

The meeting between Modi and Pope Francis in 2021 was the first between a prime minister of India and the head of the Catholic Church in more than two decades. The then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had last visited the Vatican and met the then Pope, John Paul II, in June 2000.

Modi had his second meeting with Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Apulia in Italy on June 14, 2024, and once again invited him to visit India. The pontiff had accepted the invitation.