Polish President Andrzej Duda’s farewell visit to Vatican

The Vatican indicates that “topics of mutual interest” were discussed, as well as “international issues, with particular focus on the war in Ukraine, as well as security and peace in Europe.”

It’s likely that the sensitive issue of European rearmament was discussed. Pope Francis' calls for disarmament are met with skepticism in Poland, a country that has massively rearmed in the face of Russian threats. The share of the budget devoted to defense amounts to 4.7% of GDP in Poland in 2025, a record within the European Union. By way of comparison, in France it currently stands at 2.1% of GDP, which already represents a considerable financial effort.

The visit was also an opportunity for President Duda, elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020 as Poland's head of state, to bid farewell to the Vatican, where he has been on several occasions. In particular, he attended the funeral of Benedict XVI on January 5, 2023. In July 2016, he also received Pope Francis in Krakow on the occasion of World Youth Day.

Since the autumn of 2023, the leader, supported by the conservative Law and Justice party, has been experiencing a stormy coexistence with the liberal government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. This administration is much more restrictive in its relations with the Catholic Church and is seeking, in particular, to reduce the place of religious education in schools. The president and head of state, whose constitutional prerogatives are limited, will leave power after the presidential election on May 18.

“We are very happy that the Holy Father has left the hospital, that the pneumonia from which he was suffering has been brought under control by the doctors,” said Andrzej Duda, when asked by the Polish media on his arrival at the Vatican. He said that his visit was part of a Jubilee pilgrimage, during which he was able to pass through the Holy Door and visit the tomb of John Paul II in order to “pray for our homeland, Poland,” he said.

Like the visit on March 3 of the Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda, who had also registered his visit to the Vatican as part of the Holy Year, the Polish president's trip shows the continued international activity of the Holy See even in this time of the Pope's withdrawal. Archbishop Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, was absent due to a trip to Hungary.

President Duda also announced that he would meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Head of Government Giorgia Meloni. In addition to talks on international issues and Italian-Polish cooperation, Andrzej Duda also intends to thank them for their years of cooperation.