LAST UPDATE | 19 Oct 2023

Diarmuid Pepper reporting from Rome

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins held a private audience with Pope Francis this morning in the Vatican as part of his five-day visit to Rome.

President Higgins met with Pope Francis for about a half an hour in the Pontiff’s Library in the Vatican.

Today’s meeting will be the fourth such engagement between President Higgins and Pope Francis, following previous meetings in the Vatican and at Áras an Uachtaráin.

It’s thought that President Higgins was planning discuss a number of issues of shared interest with Pope Francis, including climate change, migration, global poverty, food security, the rights of indigenous people and global peace.

President Higgins has praised the contribution Pope Francis has made to the debate on these issues, particularly within his recent encyclical Laudate Deum.

President Higgins has arrived and will now meet with Pope Francis for a private audience. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/gpq3tTlMQh

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) October 19, 2023

Laudate Deum (Praise God) is described as Pope Francis’ “exhortation to all people of good will on the climate crisis”.

In it, he expresses hope that the forthcoming COP28 climate talks “will allow for a decisive acceleration of energy transition, with effective commitments subject to ongoing monitoring”.

At a reception for the Irish community in the Irish Embassy in Rome on Tuesday, President Higgins looked foward to his meeting with Pope Francis and told the crowd he hoped the message of Laudate Deum is “not lost on global leaders”.

“He is in fact reprimanding the world for bad faith,” said President Higgins.

President Higgins added: “It would be very foolish if people thought that, with the different changes that are taking place in the world, that efforts at transcendence and periods of reflection and recognising the different approaches towards establishing dignity were not important.”

At their meeting this morning, President Higgins will present Pope Francis with a sculpture entitled ‘The Expelled’ by renowned Irish sculptor John Behan RHA.

A key theme in Behan’s work has been displacement of people and emigration, with a strong focus in recent years on depictions of the experiences of refugees around the world. 

President Higgins chose to present this piece to Pope Francis in recognition of the work which the Pope has carried out in drawing public attention to the plight of refugees and migrants across the world.

Following this private audience with Pope Francis, President Higgins held a bilateral meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

President Higgins then travelled to Campo Santo Teutonico, a burial site adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica.

President Higgins laid wreath in honour of the late Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, whose work during the Nazi occupation of Rome during World War II saved the lives of thousands of people.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Monsignor O’Flaherty.

President Higgins lays a wreath in honour of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/KvevYuRjTn

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) October 19, 2023

Later this evening, President Higgins will view the exhibition ‘Ireland and the Birth of Europe’ at the Irish Pontifical College, which is a Catholic seminary for the training and education of priests.

This exhibition tells the story of the role played by Irish scholars and missionaries, including Saint Columbanus and his followers, in the shaping of a shared European identity.

President Higgins kicked off his visit to Rome with an address to the opening session of the World Food Forum.

Tomorrow, President Higgins will provide the keynote address at the closing session of the Forum.

President Higgins’ visit to Rome also included a meeting with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, on Tuesday.

- Diarmuid Pepper is reporting from Rome and you can follow on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Diarmuid_9