Pope Francis Meets President Emmanuel Macron of France and Receives One of the 1st Biographies of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Written in 1585 - VIDEO

Pope Francis met French President Emmanuel Macron, on Friday, November 26, 2021. 

Pope Francis received this Friday morning, November 26, 2021, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. The interview lasted an hour, from 11:05 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. The French Head of State then met at length with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

These talks made it possible to underline the good existing bilateral relations, of which the centenary of the recovery was recently celebrated.

President Emmanuel Macron gave the Pope one of the first biographies of St. Ignatius of Loyola, written in 1585 by Giovanni Pietro Maffei; and a modern work by French academic François Sureau. The Pope gave him his important pontifical documents, with this joke. -"I hope they don't bore you.” It was their second meeting. The first one was in 2018. -"I've worn you out with these stories...." -"You didn't bore me." -"Thank you for your patience. Thank you." (Excerpt from Romereports)

 

The press release issued by the Holy See Press Room indicates that various international themes were discussed, including "the protection of the environment in the light of the results of the recent COP26 in Glasgow". The next French presidency of the European Union, from January 1 to June 30, 2022, was also discussed, as well as France’s engagement in Lebanon, the Middle East and Africa.

The Pope offered the French President a ceramic painting depicting Saint Peter's Basilica seen from the Vatican Gardens, as well as the editions of the papal documents, including this year's Message for Peace, the Document on Human Fraternity, and the book on the Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020.

The French President, for his part, offered Pope Francis two biographies of Saint Ignatius of Loyola: a rare edition dating from 1585 of a book written by Giovanni Pietro Maffei, which has been a reference for several centuries, and a contemporary work, Inigo, of the writer and lawyer François Sureau, member of the French Academy.

This was the second meeting between the two men, after their interview on June 26, 2018. They also spoke on the phone on several occasions, in particular following the fire at Notre-Dame-de-Paris in April. 2019, and, more recently, in the context of the pandemic and the publication of the CIASE report. For his part, Prime Minister Jean Castex was received by Pope Francis on October 18, as part of the celebration of the centenary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between France and the Holy See.

In addition to these talks at the Vatican, Emmanuel Macron's visit to Rome on November 25 and 26 was also aimed at signing the Treaty of the Quirinal, which formalizes a diplomatic rapprochement between France and Italy. The French president also received Thursday evening at the Palazzo Farnese, the seat of the French Embassy in Italy, the leaders of the Sant'Egidio community, including Andrea Riccardi, Marco Impagliazzo and Mario Giro.

They notably discussed the idea of ​​organizing a global event in favor of the abolition of the death penalty, within the framework of the French presidency of the EU. Sant’Egidio also presented the painful situation in Mozambique, where jihadist offensives have caused many casualties and the displacement of over 700,000 people. President Macron also assured of continued cooperation between the French government in organizing humanitarian corridors to respond to the current crises in Syria, Libya and Afghanistan. The issue of supporting isolated elderly people, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, was also addressed.

Source: Vatican News - Translated from French