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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he had a “very warm meeting” with Pope Francis and discussed a wide range of issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge posed by climate change, with the head of the Roman Catholic church and also invited the Pontiff to visit India at an early date.
Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to meet Francis since he became Pope in 2013, also tweeted pictures of him embracing Pope Francis.
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
“Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India,” Modi tweeted after the historic meeting.
Pope Francis received Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
This was the first meeting between an Indian Prime Minister and the Pope in more than two decades. In June 2000, late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had last visited the Vatican and met the then Pope, His Holiness John Paul II.
India and The Holy See have friendly relations dating back to the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1948. India is home to the second-largest Catholic population in Asia, the release said.
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences for people worldwide. They also discussed the challenge posed by climate change, it said.
The Prime Minister, who is in Italy to attend the G20 Summit, briefed the Pope about the ambitious initiatives taken by India in combating climate change and India’s success in administering one billion Covid-19 vaccination doses. Prime Minister Modi will also attend the Climate Summit to be held in Glasgow from Sunday.
His Holiness appreciated India’s assistance to countries in need during the pandemic, the release said.
Extends invite to visit India
The prime minister extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit India at an early date, which was accepted with pleasure.
The last Papal Visit happened in 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, and Pope John Paul II came. During Modi’s prime ministerial term, the Pope has been invited to visit India, sources said.
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis scheduled only for 20 minutes went on for an hour, they said.
Covid, climate change discussed
They discussed a wide range of issues to make the planet better by fighting climate change and removing poverty, sources said.
“During a brief conversation, the cordial relations between the Holy See and India were discussed,” the Vatican Press Office said in a brief statement on the meeting between the Pope and Prime Minister Modi.
Subsequently, in the Secretariat of State, Prime Minister Modi greeted Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Security of Relations with States, it added.
At the Vatican, Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Ahead of the historic meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday said that the Vatican had not set an agenda for the meeting. “I believe, tradition is not to have an agenda when you discuss issues with His Holiness. And I think we would respect that,” he had said.
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
“I am sure the issues would cover a range of areas of interest in terms of the general global perspectives and issues that are important to all of us, Covid-19, health issues, how we can work together to maintain peace and tranquility and this is something that, I think would be the general trend in the discussions,” he had added.
Exchanging of gifts
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
Pope Francis meets with India's Prime Minister Modi at the Vatican. October 30, 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a specially-made silver candelabra and a book on India’s climate initiatives to Pope Francis on Saturday as they held their first one-to-one meeting here.
Modi explained to the 84-year-old Pontiff that the candelabra was specially made, and the book is on climate change, an issue close to the Pope.
According to the Vatican News, the Prime Minister gifted the head of the Roman Catholic church a specially-made silver candelabra and a book, “The Climate Climb: India’s strategy, actions and achievements” during their meeting, which lasted for an hour.
The Pope reciprocated with a bronze plaque with the inscription “The desert will become a garden”, volumes of papal documents, his message for World Day of Peace and the document on Human Fraternity, signed on February 4 of 2019 in Abu Dhabi by the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, it said.
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