Accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron, the French head of state was received at the Apostolic Palace which adjoins Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome for a private audience which lasted 55 minutes.
According to the Elysée, the head-to-head mainly focused on the international situation and more particularly on Ukraine. The French president spoke of a need for “religious dialogue” and the “role” that the Catholic Church can play, in line with his speech on peace on Sunday.
“Special attention was also given to the Caucasus region, the Middle East and Africa,” the Vatican said in a statement.
The two men appeared smiling, Mr. Macron familiar with the sovereign pontiff as he had done in 2021.
They then engaged in the traditional exchange of gifts. The pope presented the French president with a bronze medal depicting St. Peter’s Square. Mr Macron offered an edition of Immanuel Kant’s “Project of Perpetual Peace” dating from 1796.
“Pray for me,” asked the pope, greeting the Macron couple. “I pray for you every day,” replied Ms. Macron.
At the end of this head-to-head, the 85-year-old Argentine pontiff exchanged for about fifteen minutes with the French delegation.
This is the third papal audience for Emmanuel Macron, after those of June 2018 and November 2021. It was followed by an interview with the number two of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, as well as with the ” Pope’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paul Gallagher.
– “Duty of resistance” –
After a private lunch with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace, Emmanuel Macron went to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran on Monday afternoon, of which he is an honorary canon as President of the Republic. French, a title dating back to the 17th century and the French king Henri IV.
President Macron has been in Rome since Sunday, where he delivered a speech at the opening of an interreligious peace summit organized by the Italian Catholic community Sant’Egidio.
He delivered a plea for peace in Ukraine, while emphasizing that this could only happen when the Ukrainians “decide” and according to the “terms” of kyiv.
On the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis has not ceased to condemn the conflict since its outbreak on February 24, while trying to maintain a diplomatic dialogue with Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church, very much aligned with the positions of the Kremlin.
Emmanuel Macron also called on religions, in his speech on Sunday, to their “duty of resistance” against “the drive for purity” and the return of the “great fears” that agitate Western societies.
The pope spoke out against euthanasia on Friday during a speech in front of French elected officials, at the very moment when Paris is preparing to launch a citizens’ convention on this delicate question to lead to a possible change in the law.
The French president also met on the sly on Sunday evening with the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, becoming the first foreign leader to meet face-to-face with the leader of the post-fascist party Fratelli d’Italia, winner of the September elections in Italy.
