Pope Francis may visit Romania in 2018, according to official sources quoted by Romanian TV station PRO TV. This would be the second visit a pontiff makes in Romania after Pope John Paul II visited the country in May 1999.

Pope Francis may attend the celebration events to mark 100 years since Romania’s Great Union (December 1, 1918), according to the same sources.

Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis extended a direct invitation to Pope Francis to visit Romania in May 2015 when he visited the Vatican. The Pope accepted the invitation, according to an announcement of the Romanian Presidency.

However, the visit’s details still needed to be negotiated on diplomatic channels.

President Klaus Iohannis welcomed, on January 19, the new Apostolic Nuncio to Romania, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía. The subject of the Pope’s visit to Romania also came up in during the meeting, according to StirileProTV.ro.

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editor@romania-insider.com