Mayor Eric Adams will travel to Rome on Thursday to meet with Pope Francis, becoming the latest in a recent succession of New York City mayors to pay respects to the leader of the Catholic Church.
The trip comes as Mr. Adams, a moderate Democrat facing languishing poll numbers and a federal criminal investigation, prepares to run for re-election next year in what is expected to be a contested primary.
The mayor will be accompanied by one of his closest advisers, Frank Carone, a former chief of staff who is now the de facto head of Mr. Adams’s campaign. A spokesman for the mayor had no immediate comment when asked about the trip; roughly an hour later, the mayor’s press office released an advisory that Mr. Adams would be in Rome later this week.
The advisory mentions “travel to the Vatican City,” but did not specify if he would meet with the pope. But three sources familiar with Mr. Adams’s itinerary confirmed that he would see Pope Francis.
A spokesman for the Vatican also had no immediate comment.
Mr. Adams is not Catholic, but has frequently sought to portray himself as a devout politician on a godly mission. At a church service just last week, he described himself as “prayer warrior” who acts as a “vessel that allows God to operate through.”
The mayor, more so than his recent predecessors, has made a point of blending religion into his political message, a direct appeal to a crucial portion of his base of support: churchgoing voters, especially in Black communities.
