Federico Lombardi

Pope Francis will next week make a brief trip to Lesbos, the Greek island on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis, the Vatican confirmed on April 7.
 

French President Francois Hollande, at the Stade de France stadium at the time of the deadly attacks at seven destinations around Paris at dawn on Saturday, made a statement regarding the attacks:

Pope Francis met on Sept.20 with Fidel and Raul Castro, the brothers who have ruled Cuba since its 1959 revolution, after celebrating an outdoor mass attended by hundreds of thousands.

Pope Francis encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in "sincere" international efforts aimed at bringing peace to Ukraine as the two men met privately at the Vatican on June 10.

Pope Francis's visit on June 6 to Bosnia, where he is expected to be greeted by 100,000 people, is posing a significant security challenge in the Balkan country that has become a fertile ground for homegrown jihadists, experts said.

The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized May 13, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects.

Pope Francis is planning to visit Cuba in September as part of a trip that will also take him to the United States, the Vatican announced on April 17.

"Religious tolerance is a treasure that you should protect well and which merits special attention in a time when extremism is threatening religious coexistence," Pope Francis said during a meeting with Albania's President Bujar Nishani.

"No one should think that can use God's strength to carry acts of violence," he added.

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras called for closer ties between the European Left and the Christian Church on Thursday during a landmark meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis.

Pope Francis is sending a cardinal to Iraq to help thousands of Christians fleeing the rapid advance of jihadis from the Islamic State (IS), the Vatican said Aug 8.