The man was sentenced to life in prison for shooting former Pope John Paul II in 1981. He served 29 years of his sentence before being released in 2010.
The late Pope visited him in prison in 1983, where the man expressed his remorse. However, no motive is known.
According to Turkish media, the man had hopes of welcoming the newly elected Pope during what is his first visit abroad. So that will not happen.
Leo XIV will visit Iznik during the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea in 325, when the church, among other things, agreed on the view of Jesus as equal to and of the same essence as God.
