Pope Francis offers Vatican refuge to Myanmar’s detained ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Pope Francis has called for the liberation of Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and offered the Vatican as a safe haven, the pontiff said in a recent conversation with Jesuits in Asia.

“I asked for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, and I met her son in Rome. I have proposed to the Vatican to give her shelter on our territory,” the pope said, according to an account of meetings with Jesuits in Asia during his trip there earlier this month.

“We cannot stay silent about the situation in Myanmar today. We must do something,” the pope is reported as saying.

The 87-year-old pontiff visited Myanmar in December 2017.

Suu Kyi has been detained by the military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup. It is unclear where the hugely popular 78-year-old is being held, or if she has been allowed any visitors.