In the meeting at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Lula extended an invitation to the Supreme Pontiff to the event. He noted that due to activities related to the Catholic Church’s Jubilee, he would be unable to attend, but guaranteed high-level representation from the Holy See.

A note published on the website of the newspaper Il Messaggero indicates that the Bishop of Rome expressed to the Brazilian president his intention to visit his country, which he will do “at the appropriate time,” he stated.

In statements to the media after the audience, Lula noted that “it was a wonderful meeting with His Holiness. We spoke about religion, faith, Brazil, and the immense challenges we face in the world.”

Among these, one of the most fundamental is the environment, and Lula asked Leo XIV to inaugurate COP30, to be held in the Brazilian city of Belém, “considering the historic importance of holding a climate conference for the first time in the heart of the Amazon.”

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