Rome, July 2 (LaPresse) – Today, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. The Prime Minister was received in audience by the Holy Father in the private library of the Apostolic Palace.
At the end of the meeting, according to a statement from Palazzo Chigi, Meloni presented the Pope with a 17th-century view of the Church of Saints Dominic and Sixtus and the ancient Dominican monastery that houses the Angelicum, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where Leo XIV completed a significant part of his education.
The Italian delegation included Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, and the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council, Alfredo Mantovano.
The Prime Minister also met with the Secretary of State of His Holiness, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
During the meeting, held in the context of the excellent relations between Italy and the Holy See, international and bilateral issues were discussed.
According to the statement, Meloni “reiterated her appreciation for the Holy See’s efforts in promoting peace in Ukraine, Gaza, and all crisis areas.” The Prime Minister also emphasized “the importance of religious freedom and the protection of Christian communities in the Middle East, which have suffered from the consequences of crises and instability in the region.”
Finally, the excellent cooperation with Catholic religious organizations in Africa, within the framework of the Mattei Plan, was reaffirmed.