Rev Steve Stockman and Catholic priest Fr Martin Magill travelled to Rome with a group of 26 peacemakers.
They met Pope Leo, who urged the pair to continue to “work together for peace”.
Fr Magill, of St John’s Parish, and Rev Stockman, of Fitzroy Presbyterian, are part of 4 Corners, a peace programme based in Belfast which brings people together from across the sectarian divide.
Rev Stockman described how the group were at the front of the crowd during Pope Leo’s weekly general audience last Wednesday.
Leo is the second Pope that Rev Stockman has met, having previously met the late Francis.
Rev Stockman has also met with the British and Irish Ambassadors to the Holy See, Chris Trott and Frances Collins.
He described how the trip came about.
“We [4 Corners] were in Rome a few times before, the last time was October 2024,” he explained.
“We somehow found our way into the offices of the Ambassadors of Britain and Ireland to the Holy See. We were there with my wife, Janice, and Fr Martin Magill, and we just connected with the ambassadors.
“We were keen to connect them to the 4 Corners festival and asked if they could come to Belfast.
“But with foreign affairs coming into the story, they felt like they were unable to come, so they asked us to come to Rome instead, to bring 4 Corners there.
“When you say ‘next time you are in the town, stop by for a coffee’, you don’t really expect to go and do it. But we got a programme of events together to take our group to Rome.”
In total, 26 travelled to Rome, including members of the board, the planning committee and friends of the group.
Rev Stockman added: “We met with Fr Martin Browne of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity. He had us for the morning.
“Then we went to the catacombs. My wife got to see (fashion designer) Valentino’s funeral. It was a wonderful time altogether really.
“Shannon Goodwin, who is on our committee, has some connection in Rome. When we applied to see Pope Leo’s public audience on the Wednesday, we had a few minutes with him afterwards.
“It was very lucky for us – Fr Martin and I seem to live in that kind of world where doors just open.”
Fr Magill was a student in Rome in the 1980s, and Leo is the third pontiff he has met, after St John Paul II, who was Pope from 1978 to 2005 and canonised as a saint in 2014, and Francis in 2022.
(Centre) Rev Steve Stockman with Shannon Goodwin and Fr Martin Magill meeting Pope Leo
“I was a student in the Irish college in Rome from 1984 to ‘88. I had the opportunity to assist with the synod of the laity in 1987 – there were students from various colleges throughout Rome,” the priest said.
“At the end, we had the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul II. The fact I met three Popes is something I don’t take for granted. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with Pope Leo last week.
Rev Steve Stockman (second from left) with Shannon Goodwin and Fr Martin Magill meeting Pope Leo
News Catch Up – Friday 30 January
“He [Pope Leo] was walking along at the front, and we were told to stand there, and he shook hands with the people there.
“I used my opportunity during my turn to thank him for his effort to promote the unity of Christians. He gave me a one-word response: ‘Absolutely’.”
A member of the peace building group, Shannon Goodwin, gave Pope Leo artwork featuring Belfast’s most famous sites as well as a programme for 4 Corners.
“When he finished he turned around to us and said, ‘Work together for peace’,” Fr Magill added.
“He was likely briefed before meeting us, [he likely knew] that we were a group from Belfast involved in peace-making work. These words were so fitting, they were five simple words; I made the point to write them down.
“It really was such a privilege”.
“It was such a rich experience, it really was such a privilege. It is something I will remember for a long time.
“The group went to Mass in St Mary Major, it was moving. I visited the tomb of Pope Francis, it is a very simple grave, just a simple gravestone. Someone left a rose on it.
“The next day, there was a child’s drawing on it. In Italian it read: ‘I love you Pope Francis’. I found it very moving.”
Rev Steve Stockman with Shannon Goodwin and Fr Martin Magill meeting Pope Leo
The 4 Corners Festival is running in venues across Belfast from January 30 to February 8, focused on the theme journey.
The festival takes its name from its role as a faith-based initiative delivered across venues in all four corners of the city, with events designed to encourage people to step beyond the physical and psychological “corners” of Belfast and encounter new perspectives, new ideas and new connections.
According to organisers, the 2026 theme reflects the many paths that shape individual and collective life.