Pope receives President of Albania
Vatican news
Pope Francis and Albanian President Bajram Begaj meet at the Vatican and remember the religious persecution of Christians by the communist regime and the efforts of the Albanian people to protect the Jewish people.
Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis received the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Bajram Begaj, at the Vatican on Monday, during which he recalled the harsh religious persecution of Christians under communism and the protection offered by the Albanian people to Jews.
After his meeting with the Pope, the President met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
According to a statement published by the Press Room of the Holy See, the talks held at the Secretariat of State were “cordial”, expressing appreciation “for the positive bilateral relations” and discussing “certain open questions in the relations between the 'Church and State'.
“Attention,” the statement noted, “then turned to Albania's path towards membership in the European Union and various international issues, with a focus on the Western Balkans region and conflicts in Middle East and Ukraine.
At the end of the audience, the Pope presented the President of Albania with a number of gifts, including a bronze sculpture, volumes of pontifical documents and his Message for peace 2024.
Pope Francis made an apostolic trip Tirana, the capital of Albania on September 21, 2014.
Pope Francis receives the President of Albania
Vatican news
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