Brazilian president meets with Pope
February 24, 2014
Pope Francis received President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil in audience on the evening of February 20, the first day of the extraordinary consistory of cardinals.
Rousseff traveled to Rome to attend the February 22 ceremony at which Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro was created a cardinal.
During the half-hour meeting, which took place in the study of the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Pope had the “opportunity to express once again his affection and good wishes for the Brazilian people,” according to Vatican Information Service. The Pope was given a shirt and ball from the Brazilian World Cup soccer team, and the Pope, in turn, gave a medallion called “The Angel of Peace” to Rousseff.
Brazil has more Catholics than any other nation in the world: the nation of 201 million is 85% Catholic, according to Vatican statistics, though other sources put the figure closer to 75%.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
