Pope Francis has private meeting with France’s
President Hollande
(Vatican Radio) Pope
Francis had a private meeting in the Vatican on Wednesday with France’s
President Francois Hollande. Their meeting came three weeks after the brutal
murder of the elderly French priest, Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed by
two young French terrorists claiming allegiance to the so-called Islamic State
group whilst he was celebrating Mass in his church near the city of Rouen.
Following the murder of
Father Hamel, President Hollande telephoned Pope Francis to express his
closeness and told him that “when a priest is attacked all of France is
wounded.” Speaking on his flight to Poland, the Pope thanked the French
President “in a special way” for having contacted him like “a brother.”
President Hollande was
accompanied on his visit to the Vatican by the French Interior Minister Bernard
Cazeneuve and the French ambassador to the Holy See, Philippe Zeller.
In an exchange of gifts,
President Hollande gave the Pope a piece of Sèvres porcelain with the emblem of
France. The Holy Father, in turn, gave the French president a round bronze sculpture
by artist Daniela Fusco, which represents the prophecy of Isaiah: "the
desert will become a garden".
Wednesday’s encounter marked
the second time that Pope Francis and President Hollande have met in the
Vatican. Their first meeting, which was an official one, took place on
24th January 2014.
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