Pope Leo XIV. is returning to Rome from the Canary Island of Tenerife on Friday on a plane provided by the Spanish King Philip VI. The Iberia plane, which the Pope was originally supposed to travel with, has technical failure, AFP reported.
Return of Leo XIV. to Rome is expected around 11:00 p.m. CET, writes TASR with reference to AFP. They discovered a technical fault in the original plane after the Pope and his entourage had already boarded it.
The head of the Catholic Church was previously greeted at the airport by the King of Spain, who, after announcing the malfunction, stepped out after again attached steps to the plane and escorted the Pope to the airport terminal. After some time, both accompanied by delegations returned to the airport area and the pope boarded the king’s – smaller – plane with an innumerable entourage.
Other members of the Vatican delegation and approximately 80 journalists went to Rome they will return in the next few hours with a replacement machine provided by Iberia.
The Pope is returning to the Italian capital after a seven-day visit to Spain. He arrived on the island of Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands on Friday from the nearby island of Gran Canaria, where he had been since Thursday. Before that, he planned to visit Madrid and Barcelona.
