“Part of the role of the embassy is to elevate, in the minds of those decision makers in the Vatican, why it’s so important that Pope Leo comes to Australia,” Pitt said.
“I think that this is a unique opportunity.
“So we’ll take every opportunity to continue to put forward that invitation and highlight why it’s important for the more than 5 million Catholics in Australia.”
Australia will host a global Catholic event, the International Eucharistic Congress, in Sydney in 2028, and church leaders hope Pope Leo will attend.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on May 9, hours after Pope Leo was elected by a conclave of the College of Cardinals, that he would invite the Pope to visit Australia for the congress.
Pitt is expected to have an audience with the Pope when he presents his diplomatic credentials to the Vatican, the formal step in being recognised as an ambassador to the small but highly influential state. Pitt resigned as a Nationals MP after 12 years in federal parliament when Albanese named him to the diplomatic post in February. He takes up a position role previously held by Tim Fischer, the former Nationals leader.
Pope Leo leading prayers in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican last week.Credit: Getty Images
Pitt said his priority was to act on the prime minister’s invitation and make the case for the papal visit.
Pope Benedict XVI visited Australia for World Youth Day in 2008 and Pope Paul VI made the first papal visit to Australia in 1970 as part of a pilgrimage across Asia and the Pacific.
Pitt noted that Pope Leo’s first statement as pontiff was “peace be with you” and said this was aligned with Australia’s interest in ending conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Pope Leo will mark the beginning of his pontificate in Rome on Sunday with a Mass that is expected to be attended by tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square.
Pope Benedict XVI with then-prime minister Kevin Rudd while visiting Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008.Credit: AP
Albanese arrived in Rome on Friday night, local time, and was due to attend the Mass with leaders including US Vice President J.D. Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Albanese will also see some of his extended family in Rome, although his office denied a news report saying he had invited his half-brother to join Australians at the Mass.
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The Mass begins at 10am local time (6pm on Sunday AEST) and is expected to follow a visit by the Pope to St Peter’s tomb in the basilica, named after the first pope.
After the visit to the basilica, church leaders present the Pope with the pallium, a vestment that signifies his assumption of the papacy, and a fisherman’s ring, the symbol of the first apostles being “fishers of men” in the gospels.
While Pitt was a critic of Labor policy on energy during his time in parliament, he said his task as an ambassador was to represent Australian policy on climate change to the Vatican.
Pope Leo raised concerns about artificial intelligence in an address last Saturday about the threat to “human dignity, justice and labour” from technology that could undermine humanity.
Keith Pitt, Australia’s ambassador-designate to the Holy See, at the Vatican City.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Pitt said Australia and the Vatican could find some common interest in the global debate about technology given the federal government’s plan to restrict social media for people under 16 and set guidelines around artificial intelligence.
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