President Isaac Herzog is expected to attend the official coronation ceremony of Pope Leo XIV, scheduled to take place next week, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post. Herzog is expected to participate in the event alongside other foreign leaders.
At the funeral of Pope Francis, only Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican was present – a relatively low-level representative – while many other countries were represented by heads of state. For example, both President Donald Trump and former president Joe Biden represented the United States at the funeral.
Following Pope Francis’s death last month, tensions emerged between Israel, the Vatican, and various Christian organizations due to the fact that neither the prime minister nor the Foreign Ministry issued a statement of condolence.
Israel-Vatican tensions
The only Israeli official to release a statement was Herzog. The Foreign Ministry even deleted a social media post that had expressed condolences, reportedly in response to the pope’s harsh criticism of Israel’s military operation in Gaza since October 7.
Pope Francis had claimed that Israel was killing children and suggested that war crimes may be taking place.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the world’s major powers for “no more war” in his first Sunday message to crowds in St. Peter’s Square since his election as pontiff.
The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Leo also welcomed the recent fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, negotiated overnight, and said he was praying to God to grant the world the “miracle of peace.”
“No more war!” the pope said, repeating a frequent call of the late Pope Francis and noting the recent 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which some 60 million people were killed.
Leo said today’s world was living through “the dramatic scenario of a Third World War being fought piecemeal,” again repeating a phrase coined by Francis.
The new pope said he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine.”
Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the bloody three-year war, Leo appealed for negotiations to reach an “authentic, just, and lasting peace.”
The pope also said he was “profoundly saddened” by the war in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
Leo said he was glad to hear of the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire and hoped negotiations would lead to a lasting accord between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
He added: “But there are so many other conflicts in the world!”
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first US-born pontiff and was a relative unknown on the world stage before his election. He previously served for decades as a missionary in Peru before first becoming a cardinal to take up a senior Vatican role two years ago.
Leo’s first Sunday address to tens of thousands in the square coincided with a previously planned pilgrimage to Rome by marching bands from around the world.
Minutes before the pope addressed the crowd, bands marched up the broad boulevard leading to the Vatican playing songs such as “YMCA” by the Village People, the theme from the film Rocky, and music by John Philip Sousa, who composed the marching classic “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
The crowd, estimated at more than 100,000 by Italian authorities, was also entertained by bands from Italy, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America who came to Rome for the ongoing Catholic Holy Year.
Leo gave his address on Sunday in fluent Italian.
In all of his appearances since his election, Leo has not made any mention of the country of his birth, angering some US conservative commentators.