President Pellegrini: Pope Leo XIV Hopes to Visit Slovakia One Day

Bratislava/Rome, May 18 (TASR) - Following his inaugural mass in the Vatican, during a brief exchange with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Pope Leo XIV expressed great hope that he would be able to visit Slovakia during his pontificate one day, TASR learnt from the President's Office on the same day. "I'm very pleased that the Pope remembers having visited Slovakia several times and noted that in the coming months he had planned to return on several occasions for the Cyril and Methodius celebrations in Nitra as well as the pilgrimage to Levoca," said Pellegrini. After his election as Pope, this will no longer be possible, the president noted, adding that he wished him, on behalf of all citizens, good health and strength in his demanding mission. On Sunday, the President attended the inaugural mass of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, together with dozens of heads of states and political leaders. The Slovak delegation also included Environment Minister Tomas Taraba. Sixty-nine-year-old Robert Francis Prevost was elected by the cardinals in the conclave as the 267th pope of the Roman Church on May 8, taking the name Leo XIV. He assumed the papacy with full authority immediately, while the inaugural mass, which formally marks the beginning of his pontificate, takes place ten days after the election. lin