Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Vepa Hajiyev, attended the enthronement ceremony of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV on Sunday at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, according to Turkmenistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.
The Ambassador conveyed congratulations and best wishes to His Holiness on behalf of the National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
The ceremony drew a crowd of approximately 200,000 people, including more than 150 official delegations from around the world. Among the high-ranking guests were King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Dijk Schoof, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8 during the fourth session of the conclave. The 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the 267th Pope and the first American pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, passed away on April 21 at the age of 88.
