Prime Minister Mark Carney will be heading to Italy next week for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV.
A news release from the Prime Minister's Office Tuesday (May 13) says Carney, who is Catholic, will travel to Rome, Italy from May 16 to 19 to attend the mass. It adds that it is a "longstanding tradition of the Catholic Church, and a defining moment in Pope Leo XIV's pontificate."
The mass will be Sunday, May 18 at St. Peter's Square.
Pope Leo XIV was elected May 8 after a day and a half of conclave. He is the second pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis, but the first from North America. He was born Robert France Prevost in Chicago, Ill.
While in Rome, the Prime Minister's Office says Carney will also meet with other international leaders "to discuss deepening trade, commerce and cultural ties."
