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Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was escorted out of the northwestern Turkish town of Iznik on Thursday ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit, according to Turkish media reports.
Agca, a Turkish national, fired multiple shots at Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in May 1981, severely wounding the pontiff.
Turkish media quoted Agca on Thursday as saying he hoped to meet Pope Leo XIV “for two or three minutes,” but Halk TV reported that he was removed from the area before the pope arrived.
Agca said he wanted “to welcome the pope,” adding, “I hope we can sit down and talk in Iznik, or in Istanbul, for two or three minutes.”
Following the 1981 attack, Agca received a life sentence in Italy, later serving time in Ankara after being transferred to Türkiye. He was released in January 2010 after 29 years in prison.
Pope John Paul II visited Agca in prison in December 1983, where Agca expressed repentance but did not disclose his motives.
Pope Leo XIV is currently in Türkiye on his first international trip as head of the Catholic Church.
His stop in Iznik marks the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a historic gathering of bishops in 325 that produced a foundational statement of Christian faith.
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