A Turkish man infamous for attacking Pope John Paul II in 1981 was escorted out of the town of Iznik on Thursday, Nov. 27, just hours before Pope Leo XIV’s scheduled visit, according to Turkish media reports.
Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish national, shot and severely wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in May 1981. He served a life sentence in Italy before being transferred to Ankara, where he completed his imprisonment. Agca was released in January 2010 after spending 29 years behind bars. John Paul famously visited him in prison in 1983, where Agca expressed repentance but did not explain his motives.
Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in Iznik, Agca reportedly told Turkish media that he hoped to meet the pontiff “for two or three minutes”. He added that he wished “to welcome the pope” and hoped they could “sit down and talk in Iznik, or in Istanbul, for two or three minutes.”
However, according to Halk TV, authorities removed him from the area before the pope arrived.
Pope Leo XIV is currently on his first international trip as head of the Catholic Church. His visit to Iznik marks the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, the historic 325 A.D. gathering of bishops that produced a foundational statement of Christian faith.