Pilgrimage To Pope Francis' Grave, President Abbas: He Recognizes Palestine Without Being Asked

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the late Pope Francis. (Source: Vatican News/Vatican Media)

JAKARTA - Palestinian President made a pilgrimage to Pope Francis' grave during a three-day visit to Italy, in addition to meeting Pope Leo XIV, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Arriving in Rome on Wednesday afternoon, President Abbas drove to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore where Pope Francis' grave is located.

Accompanied by Pastor Ibrahim Faltas, President Abbas entered Basilica at around 16:30 p.m. local time and left him about fifteen minutes later, quoted by Vatican News.

President Abbas then laid a bouquet of honorary flowers on a marble tomb that read "France".

"I came to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he has done for Palestine and the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognizes Palestine without needing to be asked by anyone," President Abbas told reporters.

À peine arrivé à Rome, Mahmoud Abbas s'est recueilli devant la tombe de François à Sainte-Marie-Majeure. Le président de l'Autorité palestinienne sera reçu ce jeudi par Léon XIV.https://t.co/woHeLG6dau pic.twitter.com/w9TJl5BAHi

— Vatican News (@vaticannews_fr) November 5, 2025

À peine arrivé à Rome, Mahmoud Abbas s'est recueilli devant la tombe de François à Sainte-Marie-Majeure. Le président de l'Autorité palestinienne sera reçu ce jeudi par Léon XIV.https://t.co/woHeLG6dau pic.twitter.com/w9TJl5BAHi

Eleven years ago, President Abbas participated in a historic prayer meeting at the Vatican Park with Pope Francis and then Israeli President Shimon Peres. During the meeting, an olive tree was planted as a symbol of peace. Orthodox Patriarch

Over the years, President Abbas met Pope Francis several times. The two are known to have communicated by telephone frequently after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the next Israeli attack on Gaza.

The final hearing between the President of Palestine and Francis takes place on December 12, 2024. Both reaffirm the urgent need to address the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza and emphasize that a two-state solution must be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Today, President Abbas plans to meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

The two spoke by telephone on July 21, discussing the development of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and violence in the West Bank.

In the conversation, a note from the Holy See Press Office said the Pope again called for full respect for international humanitarian law, stressed the obligation to protect civilians and holy places, and condemned the use of indiscriminate force and the forced transfer of civilians.

In the same appeal, Pope Leo XIV also recalled the tenth anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the Palestinian State, which was signed on June 26, 2015, and took effect on January 2, 2016.