Azerbaijan hopes Pope Leo XIV will attend opening of new Catholic church in Baku

Azerbaijan hopes Pope Leo XIV will visit Baku to attend the opening ceremony of the country's second Catholic church, dedicated to St. John Paul II, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said in an interview with Jeffrey Sachs, according to Report.

"Taking this opportunity, I would like to reach out to Christians around the world, particularly members of the Catholic community, and announce that a second Catholic church is being built in Baku. The first one is already fully operational, while construction of the second is being funded through a donation from the Azerbaijani government. We hope that Pope Leo XIV himself will be able to attend the opening ceremony of this church," the presidential aide said.

According to him, Azerbaijan and the Holy See enjoy close relations and fruitful cooperation.

"We have great respect for Pope Leo XIV. President Ilham Aliyev has invited him to visit Azerbaijan. Two Roman Catholic Pontiffs – John Paul II in 2002 and Francis in 2016 – 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 in the Vatican.

He stressed that Baku consistently advocates dialogue among civilizations and believes Azerbaijan could host an international conference on the subject. He noted that the Vatican is one of Azerbaijan's key partners in this regard.

On May 1, 2024, the Baku City Executive Authority issued an order for the construction of the church on May 1, 2024, allocating 0.17 hectares of land for use by the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan. The plot is located at 722 Abbas Mirza Sharifzadeh Street, Yasamal district.

The ceremony to allocate the land for the construction of the Church of St. John Paul II and lay the foundation stone for the new building took place in December 2024.