French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would cancel his trip to Mauritius to attend a clergyman funeral at the Vatican on Saturday, the day after Pope Francis’ death.
But Franco Batican’s relationship was not only marked by moments of warmth, but also tense and not simple.
The relationship between the Jesuit Pope and the French President, the latter, educated at Jesuit schools, was heartfelt, and sometimes even warm.
In 2018, at one of the Vatican meetings, Macron greeted the Pope by kissing him on the cheek. Both men were the first name criteria.
However, the Pope opposed some of Macron’s positions, including the French movement. We will build abortion rights Last year’s Constitution and its evolving debate Even though I’m dying – A topic that diverged between Pope Francis and the French government.
Although often accused of being cold towards France, Pope Francis visited the country three times more than any other country during his 12-year bishop.
However, each visit was undermined by misunderstanding, and many people questioned the relationship between the Pope and France.
“I’ll go to Marseille, not France.”
Francis’ first visit to France in 2014 was officially a European visit.
He traveled to Strasbourg to attend the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. However, he did not visit the city’s famous cathedral. This detail sparked criticism at the time.
In 2023, Pope Francis traveled to a city in southern Marseille and condemned the tragedy of the shipwreck of Mediterranean immigrants.
But that was one comment before the visit.
“I’m going to Marseille, not France,” he said. It eased speculation about whether he was intentionally distancing himself from the French government.
Francis painted a crowd of 60,000 people at the city’s Verodrome Stadium, where he celebrated the Mass and created an iPleased plea For greater compassion for immigrants, we subtly unearth Macron’s stricter attitude towards immigration.
“There was a lot of very open exchanges between the two heads of state,” but “each of which took his own role,” French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott said in an interview with French Radio Francefo on Tuesday.
Last Visit – Missing the invitation
The most iconic rupture took place in December 2024. Pope Francis did not attend the spectacular reopening of Notre Dame in Paris, five years after it was destroyed by the fire.
But a week later, The Pope traveled to Corsicait turns out to be his last overseas trip.
For some, the choice felt like a snub. However, Catholic historian and expert Martin Dumont argued that it reflected the Pope’s unwavering commitment to reach what is called the “periphery” of the Catholic world.
“He prefers idyllic visits,” Dumont explained. “He really wanted to get in direct contact with his followers, he didn’t want to visit the state.
The head of the Catholic Church has never kept a secret the fact that Europe is not his priority.
Through his Holy See, Francis avoided official visits to other major Catholic countries such as Germany, Spain and the UK.
Instead, he chose destinations such as Asia, Africa, smaller, poorer countries or war-related countries.
