José Maria Neves invites Pope Francis to visit the archipelago
The President of the Republic today invited Pope Francis to visit the archipelago during the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the diocese of Santiago, he announced in a message, after a meeting with the leader of the Catholic Church, in the Vatican.
“I reiterated the invitation for you to visit the islands, as part of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the creation of the Diocese of Santiago de Cape Verde”, wrote José Maria Neves.
The celebrations will last until 2033.
On the other hand, as he had already mentioned on Thursday, the head of state noted the “desire for the beatification of Manuel Costa Ríos, better known as the black Manuel, who left Cape Verde for Argentina, in the 17th century, and became guardian of a sanctuary in the town of Luján”.
The President of the Republic described today's meeting with Pope Francis in a message on Facebook.
“It was a luminous meeting. We spoke above all about peace and fraternity in the world, freedom of spirit and the dignity of the human person. The Holy Father mentioned Cape Verde to me, with a mix of emotion, pride and deep respect”, he described.
Pope Francis “has been an inspiring leader and has addressed with great wisdom and magnanimity the most pressing issues of our time such as geo-strategic wars, climate change, poverty, inequalities and migration”, he added.
José Maria Neves was received “exactly 10 years after” the last meeting between the two, also at the Vatican, as Prime Minister, to exchange the instruments of Ratification of the Legal Agreement signed between Cape Verde and the Holy See, in June 2013.
Today's meeting was part of a visit that the head of state is carrying out to Italy, until Monday.
The head of state also has other meetings on the agenda regarding bilateral cooperation and visits to Cape Verdean communities in Rome and Naples.
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