Pope Francis meets world leaders at G7 Summit

Pope with world leaders at G7 2024 Summit - image Vatican Media

Source: Vatican Media

History was made on Friday afternoon, when Pope Francis became the first Pope to address a G7 summit. Both before and after his speech, he held a number of one-to-one meetings with world leaders, from the US, Ukraine, India, Kenya, France, Turkey, Canada, and Brazil.

Before his address, the Pope met:

- Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

- Emmanuel Macron, President of France

- Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

After his speech, the Pope took several hours to listen to interventions from other world leaders. He then spoke with the following individuals:

- William Samoei Ruto, President of Kenya

- Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

- Joseph Biden, President of the USA

- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil

- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye.

The G7 Summit, which concludes on Saturday, focuses mainly on Africa and economic development, but also addresses the war in the Middle East and issues concerning migration.

The G7 includes Italy, currently holding the presidency, as well as the USA, Canada, Japan, the UK, France, and Germany. The outgoing European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, was also present.

The Holy See is not a member of the G7, but Pope Francis was invited by Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The Pope's address was part of an 'Outreach' session, open to non-G7 members.

See also: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49987