Modi's One-on-one with Pope Historic Fifth, Who Are Other Indian PMs to Meet Catholic Head at Vatican

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to have a historic one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis for the first time on Saturday at Vatican City, he is the fifth Indian prime minister to visit the head of the Roman Catholics, the largest religious denomination in the world.

On October 27, a Catholic Bishops’ body in Kerala released a statement about PM Modi’s Vatican visit. Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) president Cardinal George Alencherry said they had come to know from official sources that the “meeting between His Holiness Pope Francis and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will take place on Saturday, October 30”.

Describing it as a “historic meeting”, the Cardinal said it will “add more energy and warmth to the relations between our country and the Vatican and the Catholic Church”. He also wished “all success” to the Prime Minister for all his events in Rome and Italy.

Christians are the third largest religious community (2.3 per cent of the population) in India, as per the Census 2011. Roman Catholics are an influential community in Goa as well as Kerala among other South Indian states. Also, India has the second largest Catholic population in Asia.

Here’s a look at Indian prime ministers who have visited the Vatican before PM Modi:

1. Jawaharlal Nehru: Nehru visited the Vatican in July 1955 when Pope Pius XII was the sovereign. Interestingly, Modi’s visit to the Pope is at a time when the Goa assembly election is around the corner. Roman Catholics form a large support base of the BJP in the state. However, during Nehru’s visit, the Portuguese were protesting attempts to annex Goa into the Indian Union.

2. Indira Gandhi: Nehru’s daughter, who also accompanied him during his visit to the Vatican, met Pope John Paul II in 1981 as prime minister.

3. IK Gujral: Gujral also met Pope John Paul II in 1997.

4. Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Vajpayee met the Pope in 2000 during his visit to Italy.

Popes in India

According to information from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), India has witnessed three papal visits so far.

The first Pope to visit India was Pope Paul IV, who visited Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress.

Pope John Paul II visited India in February 1986. He visited different parts of India, including Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and met Indian leaders.

He again visited India in November 1999 for a state visit. He met with the then president KR Narayanan, vice-president and the prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

However, Pope John Paul II’s second visit to India ran into controversy. Hindutva outfits such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal protested his visit, seeking an apology for alleged conversions of Indians by Christian missionaries in the past.

India-Holy See Relations

Diplomatic relations between India and the Holy See (the Pope) were established soon after independence in 1948, as per the MEA. Traditionally, India’s ambassador in Berne, Switzerland, has been accredited to the Holy See. New Delhi has a Nunciature (embassy) for the Holy See, presently headed by a Nuncio (ambassador).

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