The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit the country.
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Thrissur, CBCI head, handed a letter of invitation to the pope to visit India in a meeting in the Vatican on May 14.
"The people of India—across all rites and regions—eagerly await the visit of Pope Leo XIV. His presence would be a profound blessing for our faithful and a strong symbol of hope, peace, and unity in our diverse nation," the archbishop said in a letter.
It is the desire of millions of Indians that Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born, visit the subcontinent, the prelate said.
India is home to over 20 million Catholics. India has more Catholics than Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore combined. Pope Francis visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore in 2024.
Indian Catholics are hopeful that a papal journey will occur, according to the statement.
The invitation further talks about how important the Church is in India for education, healthcare, and social service.
It also says that a papal visit will help bring people of different faiths together and make the country more united.
The Vatican hasn't officially responded yet, but people in the Catholic Church say they are grateful and happy to have received the invitation.
If the visit goes ahead, it will represent a new chapter in the relationship between the Holy See and the Indian Church, which is led by Pope Leo XIV. He is the first Augustinian pope and a strong supporter of the poor, oppressed, and people in the global south.
The first pope to visit India was Paul IV, who visited Mumbai in 1964. Pope John Paul II visited India in February 1986 and November 1999. John Paul II, the last pope to visit India, went to New Delhi in 1999 to issue a papal document about the Church in Asia.
Pope Francis repeatedly expressed his desire to visit India, but it did not happen as the Indian federal government failed to extend the official invitation letter in time. The visit was supposed to happen in 2017 but could not materialize.
In 2017, Francis hoped to visit India and Bangladesh. As diplomatic procedures between India and the Vatican regarding the papal visit did not push through positively, he opted to visit Myanmar instead, along with Bangladesh.
Sources say Francis would have visited India after 2025, but it did not take place following his health conditions. He died on April 21, 2025, battling a complex lung infection and complications.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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