Mayor Adams is heading to Rome this week to meet with Pope Francis and participate in a conference hosted by the Vatican, City Hall announced Monday.
Adams, who’s not Catholic but identifies as Christian and has spoken frequently of the importance of faith, will depart to Italy Thursday and return to New York next Monday, an advisory from his office says. The advisory doesn’t mention a sit-down with the pope, but Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said he’ll “have an audience with His Holiness” while there.
Adams’ meeting with the pope will take place alongside the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, a conference he’s expected to participate in. The conference, which will be attended by politicians from across the world, is hosted by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation, a Vatican charity launched by the pope in 2022.
Among other panels, Adams will be the keynote speaker at a roundtable discussion entitled “Public Administration: Urban Community,” a conference brochure says.
New York has one of the largest Catholic communities in the U.S., with the state’s Roman Archdiocese counting 2.8 million residents as members.
The tab for Adams’ airfare and accommodation in Rome is being picked up by the papal foundation, Levy said. Levy wouldn’t say whether taxpayer funds will be spent on any other portions of Adams’ trip or if any other city officials will accompany him.
One person who is planning to join Adams on the trip is Frank Carone, his ex-chief of staff and longtime political confidante.
Carone, who has launched a lobbying firm since leaving City Hall and is expected to lead Adams’ 2025 reelection campaign, told the Daily News he was independently invited to the Fratelli Tutti conference, but confirmed he’ll be with Adams in Rome. He said he’s leaving a day earlier than Adams.
Among other destinations, Adams has gone on official trips to Israel, Qatar, Mexico, Greece, Ecuador and Colombia since taking office in early 2022.
The Rome sojourn comes as the city is on edge over tumultuous protests that have cropped up on college campuses and elsewhere in response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Columbia University announced today it was canceling its main commencement ceremony amid security concerns,
Adams often speaks of the importance of spirituality.
“I don’t know what happened that all of a sudden we want to whisper our faith,” he said at an event last week with faith leaders “I want to be on the top mountain and yell that I’m a child of God.”
