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Pope Leo XIV held a private meeting on Saturday with Andrea Minguzzi, the father of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, a 14-year-old Italian-Turkish boy who was fatally stabbed in Istanbul earlier this year.
The encounter took place at the Apostolic Nunciature in Harbiye, Istanbul, as part of the pontiff’s official visit to Türkiye.
Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, a student at a private Italian high school in Istanbul, was attacked in January and died after being stabbed five times by an assailant who had previously harassed him.
Two other defendants were acquitted and released—a ruling that drew public backlash and reignited scrutiny of the justice system.
Speaking to journalists following the meeting, Andrea Minguzzi said he had asked the pope for his blessing for his son and the family.
He described the audience with Pope Leo XIV as one of the greatest honors of his life, expressing gratitude for the pontiff’s reception.
"Today I cried, but I cried from happiness. It was Ahmet who brought me here. He made this meeting happen," Minguzzi said.
He told the Pope that he had written him a letter two weeks earlier, requesting a blessing for his family and for Mattia Ahmet.
During the meeting, he asked the pope to pray for their efforts to turn personal grief into a mission of peace.
"Our greatest wish is for Ahmet’s memory to continue to inspire peace. We want every action we take to become a true good in someone else’s life," he said.
"I asked the Holy Father to pray for our mission of brotherhood, which we try to carry forward not in words, but through action."
Minguzzi also conveyed that his son was recognized as a figure of unity across religious lines.
"I told the pope that Ahmet is seen by many Muslims as an ‘angel of brotherhood.’ This is why I believe he can become a point of connection among believers," he noted.
Thanking Pope Leo XIV for granting him an audience, Minguzzi added, "I expressed my deepest gratitude to the Holy Father for receiving me, for giving me the honor of being in his presence, and for helping me realize one of my life’s biggest dreams."
Pope Leo XIV is conducting his first overseas visit as pontiff from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, 2025, with a tour of Türkiye and Lebanon.
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