teleSur
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Wednesday with Pope Francis at the Vatican as part of his official visit to Europe.
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Lula, accompanied by First Lady Rosángela “Janja” da Silva, held the meeting with the Argentine Pope behind closed doors for 45 minutes.
They discussed several topics, including “the socio-political situation in the region, the promotion of peace, the fight against poverty and inequality, respect for indigenous populations, and environmental protection.”
After the private meeting, the Brazilian president, along with the delegation accompanying him, presented Francis with an engraving of the Holy Family and a statue of Our Lady of Nazareth of Bethlehem, patron saint of the Amazon.
I thank Pope Francis for the audience at the Vatican and the good conversation about world peace.
In this regard, Janja da Silva said via Twitter, “We took advantage of the meeting to invite the Pope to participate in this year’s festivities, which take place in Bethlehem in October:” one of the biggest Catholic events in the world, the Círio de Nazaré.
Lula also met with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Matarella, and with the far-right Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
As part of his tour of Europe, the Workers’ Party (PT) leader will leave for Paris to attend the summit on a new global financial pact, an event to be inaugurated by French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Before returning to Brazil, Lula will have lunch with Macron, scheduled for Friday at the Élysée Palace, headquarters of the host government. According to reports, the PT leader will discuss the tightening of the Mercosur-European Union (EU) agreement approved by the French Parliament.
