The Prime Minister became the first Luxembourgish politician to be received by the Pope since former environment minister Carole Dieschbourg visited in September 2015.
The two exchanged gifts during the audience, as Pope Francis presented Bettel with a bronze sculpture and papal documents, while the PM offered the Pope a selection of Luxembourgish pastries in return, according to the Vatican Media news outlet.
Of the visit, Bettel wrote on Twitter and Instagram:
“It was an honour to meet with Pope Francis today at the Vatican. I thanked His Holiness for his tireless efforts in advocating for social justice everywhere and for his engagement in urging us to tackle the climate crisis.”
Bettel then met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
The Papal audience formed part of Bettel’s economic and tourism mission to Italy, which also consisted of engagements with Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna region, and the mayors of Bologna and Rimini among others. Accompanied by Minister of Tourism Lex Delles, the Prime Minister has spent the last few days advocating for cooperation between Luxembourg and Emilia-Romagna in the fields of research, digital technology, the automotive industry and the agri-food sector.
