Azerbaijan hopes for Leo XIV's visit to open Catholic church in Baku
Azerbaijan hopes that Pope Leo XIV will come to Baku to take part in the opening ceremony of the second Catholic church, Saint John Paul II.
As Report informs, this was stated by Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev in an interview with Jeffrey Sachs.
"Taking this opportunity, I would like to address Christians around the world, especially representatives of the Catholic denomination, and report that a second Catholic church is being built in Baku. The first one is already fully functioning, and the construction of the second one is being carried out at the expense of a donation from the government of Azerbaijan. We hope that Pope Leo XIV himself will be able to attend the opening ceremony of this church," the presidential aide noted.
According to him, close relations have developed between Azerbaijan and the Holy See, and fruitful cooperation has been established.
"We truly have great respect for Pope Leo XIV. President Ilham Aliyev invited him to visit Azerbaijan. Two Popes (John Paul II: 2002, Francis: 2016 – ed.) have visited Azerbaijan," he said.
Hajiyev also expressed gratitude to the Holy See for giving Azerbaijan the opportunity to contribute to the restoration of ancient Christian catacombs on the territory of the Vatican.
He emphasized that official Baku consistently advocates a dialogue of civilizations and believes that the country can become a venue for holding an international conference on this topic. According to him, one of Azerbaijan's important partners in this area is the Vatican.
It should be recalled that for the purpose of building the church, the Baku City Executive Power adopted an order dated May 1, 2024, on transferring for the use of the Catholic Church in the Republic of Azerbaijan 0.17 hectares of land located at the address: Yasamal district, Abbas Mirza Sharifzade Street, entrance 722.
The ceremony of providing the land plot for the construction of the Saint John Paul II church and laying the foundation of the new church took place in December 2024.
