As another FR poster pointed out, Peter was the first Pope. He was from Judea (modern Israel). Technically the M.E. is part of the Asian continent
Technically, the ME is part of Asia. I didn’t know that technicality. If it’s so, then it’s so. I don’t remember it, though, from geography. I know that the European and Asian landmass is arbitrarily divided with no real reason for doing so in terms of continental geography. The differences in the other land masses known as continents is fairly obvious.
In terms of Francis I, however, this really doesn’t make any difference whatsoever.