Mark Carney meets Pope Leo XIV after inaugural mass in the Vatican – National

Prime minister Mark Carney had a short audience Pope Leo XIV Sunday afternoon in the Vatican after the inaugural mass of the Pontiff on St. Peter’s Square.

Carney sat in the second row with his wife Diana for mass, in a section, among others, world leaders and heads of state.

The prime minister, who is a pious Catholic, was one of the few world leaders to kneel during the blessing of the Eucharist and was seen in two cases who took a photo of the pope on his phone to mark the opportunity – before the mass started and after it was completed.

After mass, he briefly met the Pope in St. Peter’s Basilica, alongside his wife and their daughter Cleo.

Carney also met other world leaders at the same time, which contributed to his growing list of official introductions at the weekend. He spoke with the prime ministers of Australia, Croatia and Ireland, as well as the presidents of Israel and Nigeria.

Carney had a bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier on Sunday before he drove to the Vatican. He had similar meetings on Saturday with leaders of Italy, Ukraine and the European Union.

Thirteen Canadian MPs also attended the mass, including Jaime Battiste, who was part of a reception with Canadian Catholic cardinals on Saturday evening in Rome next to the prime minister.

The Nova Scotia MP said he looked forward to hearing how the pope “sets the tone” for how he will lead.

“It’s a bit like our version of the throne speech as MPs,” Battiste said reporters outside the official residence of Canada.

Pope Leo – the first American to hold the title – called for unity in his homily.

“In this time we still see too much disagreement, too many wars caused by hatred, violence, prejudices, the fear of difference and an economy that exploits the resources of the earth,” he said.

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Indigenous leaders have long called on the Vatican to repatriate thousands of indigenous artifacts from communities in Canada. The deceased Pope Franciscus had expressed the willingness to return artifacts from the colonial era to the Vatican Museum.

Battiste said that the return of the artifacts came up in his meeting with the cardinals, and their return is an important step in the direction of reconciliation.

“I have always said that reconciliation is a trip, not a destination, and we all have steps to take that trip,” said Battiste.

“I was proud to see that our prime minister was talking about reconciliation between indigenous communities and the Catholic Church.”

Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos is also part of the Canadian delegation to the Vatican.

He said that the church plays an important role in promoting peace between countries. Last week Leo offered to organize peace talks in the Vatican between Russia and Ukraine.

“We need more peace in this world, and I think we will hear more from that on the side of the Pope,” Duclos told reporters.

“I think (organizing peace talks) is a very important thing that the church can do. The church is not an armed country, it is a small state … with a lot of influence. To bring people together, unlike distributing our humanity, it is the right thing to do.”

& copy 2025 The Canadian Press