In a statement released on August 29, 2025, the prefecture of Trieste ruled out the possibility of there having been a foiled assassination attempt on Pope Francis during his visit to the city in 2024, despite allegations to the contrary in an Italian newspaper.
A gun found in a train station in Trieste, Italy, the day before a papal visit in 2024 didn't deter the Pope from going. Later investigation found no threat to Francis.
A gun and a suspect
Interpol arrested a Turkish suspect in Holland, in connection with a gun found in Trieste on the day before the Pope arrived in the city. However, according to Italian police, the investigation into the suspect — who was described in the local press as having ties to ISIS — has not revealed any connection to the pontiff. Rather, the focus is now on “criminal networks unrelated to terrorism.”
The prefecture acknowledged that it opened an investigation after the automatic pistol was found at Trieste train station on July 6, 2024, the day before the Pope's arrival. However, it questions the information published by the daily newspaper Il Piccolo, which claimed that investigators were still leaning towards a “possible plot to assassinate the pontiff.”
No connection to the pontiff
The suspect, Hasan Uzun, was deported from Holland to Italy, where Italian police questioned him. “No evidence of hostile or homicidal intentions towards the Holy Father has been found,” the Italian authorities said afterwards.
The prefecture said it had worked in collaboration with foreign police services, on an international letter of request, to proceed with his arrest. The evidence gathered during the investigation, which is still ongoing, suggests that the Turkish suspect is linked to criminal networks, not terrorist ones.
According to Italian Catholic news outlet Avvenire, the charges against Uzun in Italy “relate to the illegal carrying and possession of weapons in conjunction with others.”
On July 7, 2024, the pontiff flew in briefly by helicopter from Rome to close an event organized by the Italian Bishops' Conference.
According to Avvenire, Pope Francis was aware that the weapon had been found and that it was unclear at that point if there was a threat to his life. The bishop of Trieste, Enrico Trevisi, told the publication:
When the Pope landed, he greeted the various authorities, and I found myself getting into the popemobile. At that moment, the Holy Father turned to a bodyguard and asked if they had heard anything about the gun, then turned to me and added, “The authorities advised me not to come to Trieste because they found a suitcase with a gun in the station.”
However, Bishop Trevisi said, the Pope shrugged off the threat and proceeded with the visit, apparently unconcerned. He celebrated Mass in Piazza Unità d'Italia before returning to the Vatican.
