Pope Francis meets Azerbaijani leader
Ilham Aliyev describes pontiff visit as ‘historic’
Pope Francis (L) and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (C) stand in silence during an official welcoming ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan on October 2, 2016. ( Azerbaijan Presidency - Anadolu Agency )
Ankara
By Ruslan Rehimov
BAKU
Pope Francis Sunday met Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan concluding his trip in the Caucasus region.
Describing the visit of the spiritual leader of the globe’s estimated 1 billion Catholics in a Muslim-majority country as “historic”, Aliyev said that it was important, both for bilateral relations between the Vatican and Azerbaijan and dialogue between civilizations.
The 79-year-old Argentinian pontiff also visited Martyrs’ Lane, a cemetery and memorial in the capital Baku which is dedicated to those who were killed on Jan. 20, 1990 -- is also known as Black January -- during the break-up of the Soviet Union.
The pontiff also celebrated a mass for the country’s tiny Catholic community.
Pope Francis’s visit in the Caucasus started on Friday with neighboring Georgia, where he faced protests from a Orthodox Christian Church -- the overwhelming majority in the country. He also led mass in a largely empty stadium in the capital Tbilisi.
In 2014, Francis visited Turkey, a mostly Muslim country, and prayed for world peace with the Istanbul-based leader of many of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Greek Patriarch Bartholomew I.
