Pope Francis will attend a UN climate conference in Glasgow in November if health permits, bishops in Scotland said Monday.
The bishops confirmed the Pope’s presence among other world leaders in a statement on their website.
“Asking the Holy Father for a warm welcome if he attends the conference, they are pleased to hear that he hopes to attend and will be happy to meet with them in Glasgow,” the statement said.
On Monday, the Vatican announced that Francis is in a Roman hospital after colon surgery and will stay there for a few more days. He is expected to resume normal activities in August.
The Scottish bishops said the pope would “come to Scotland for a very short time, much of which will be spent on the COP26 conference”.
In October, the Vatican will hold a large gathering of world religious leaders and scholars to take a common stand to raise rates ahead of the conference.
The Vatican has not yet officially announced the Pope’s visit to Scotland, but a trip to Slovakia and the Hungarian capital, Budapest, is still scheduled for mid-September.