This was one of the most anticipated moments of the trip: the meeting with the press. There, the pope revealed some personal matters—for example, how he felt during the conclave.
POPE LEO XIV
Well my first comment would be that just a year or two ago, I too thought about retiring someday.
I said to a reporter, the day before I was elected, she caught me on the street as I was going to lunch across the street at the Augustinians and she said, “well what do you think, you’ve become one of the candidates?” And I simply said, everything is in the hands of God. And I believe that profoundly.
In addition, the pope shared a key to understanding his own spirituality. He said that he was greatly influenced by a book called The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, which talks about trust in God.
POPE LEO XIV
And if you want to know something about me, that’s been my spirituality for many years. In midst of great challenges, living in Peru during years of terrorism, being called to service in places I never thought I would be called to serve to. I trust in God and that message is something I share with all people. So, what was it like, I resigned myself to the fact when I saw how things were going, I said this could be a reality, I took a deep breath, I said “Here we go, Lord, you’re in charge and you lead the way.”
The pope also gave hints about his upcoming trips. The next destination could be Africa.
POPE LEO XIV
As far as trips go, nothing is ever certain. I hope to make a trip to Africa; that would possibly be the next journey. To confirm: Africa. Africa. Personally, I hope to go to Algeria to visit the places connected to the life of Saint Augustine, but also to continue the conversation of dialogue, of building bridges between the Christian world and the Muslim world, so to speak.
During the dialogue with the press, current issues were also discussed, such as the integration of Muslim people in Europe.
POPE LEO XIV
I know that in Europe there are many times fears that are present but oftentimes generated by people who are against immigration and trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race. And in that sense, I would say that we all need to work together. One of the values of this trip is precisely to raise the world’s attention to the possibiliti that dialogue and friendship between muslims and Christians is possible.
On the flight from Turkey to Lebanon, the pope had already had a separate meeting with the journalists covering the trip. But this second round had a different tone because the pope shared more personal aspects that he had not revealed before.
