Pope Leo XIV met with Mahmoud Abbas in Rome on Thursday, in the pontiff’s first in-person meeting with the Palestinian Authority chief since assuming the papacy in May.
The pope and Abbas previously spoke over the phone on July 21, to discuss the fighting in the Gaza Strip and tensions in Judea and Samaria.
Thursday’s meeting, which lasted around an hour and was described as “cordial” in a Vatican statement, came nearly a month after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect in Gaza.
“During the cordial talks, it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution,” the Vatican announced.
Immediately after touching down in Rome on Wednesday, the P.A. chief paid his respects at the grave of Pope Francis, who died in April, during a visit to the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great.
Speaking with reporters outside the church on Wednesday, Abbas said: “I came to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and for the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone having to ask him to do so.”
In an interview published last month, Leo voiced “grave concern” over the situation in Gaza amid the war on Hamas, but stopped short of accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide against Palestinians.
“The word genocide is being thrown around more and more,” the pontiff said in an interview with U.S. journalist Elise Ann Allen for the book Pope Leo XIV: Global Citizen, Missionary of the 21st Century.
“Officially, the Holy See does not believe that we can make any declaration at this time about that,” said the pope, adding, “There’s a very technical definition about what genocide might be, but more and more people are raising the issue.”
Leo expressed solidarity with Gaza’s civilian population, saying Palestinians had “once again” been forced from their homes and were living in “unacceptable conditions” as a result of the fighting, which Hamas initiated with its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
