In a 45-minute meeting, Lula and Pope Francis talk about “peace in the world”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met this Wednesday (21) with Pope Francis for 45 minutes at the Vatican, during which they spoke about “peace in the world”, among other subjects.

“I thank Pope Francis for the audience at the Vatican and the good talk about peace in the world”, Lula wrote on his social networks, in a post accompanied by some photos of the meeting.

The meeting between the two took place behind closed doors in an office in the Sala Paulo VI of the Vatican, close to the residence of the pope, who received the Brazilian president a few days after being discharged after an operation on an abdominal hernia.

The Holy See reported in a note that during the meeting “satisfaction was expressed for the good bilateral relations”, “emphasizing the good collaboration between the Church and the State for the promotion of moral values ​​and the common good”.

“There was a positive exchange of views on the socio-political situation in the region and they stopped to address some issues of common interest, such as the promotion of peace and reconciliation, the fight against poverty and inequality, respect for indigenous peoples and the protection to the environment,” states the brief statement.

Soon after, the presentation of the delegation and the traditional exchange of gifts took place.

Lula, to whom the pope wrote in prison, gave the pontiff an engraving of the Sagrada Familia by Pernambuco artist J Borges. The first lady, Rosângela “Janja” da Silva, presented Francisco with a statue of Our Lady of Nazaré de Belém.

For his part, Francis delivered his 2023 Message of Peace, the Document on Human Fraternity and the book on the “Statio Orbis” of March 27, 2020, when he prayed for the end of the pandemic in a deserted St. Peter’s Square.

In addition, he presented the couple with a bronze bas-relief with the inscription “Peace is a fragile flower”.

Lula also invited the pontiff to return to Brazil – his first international apostolic trip was to Rio de Janeiro in July 2013 for the World Youth Day – and to participate in the Círio de Nazaré in Belém next October.

Lula’s team had already said that the president’s intention was to talk to the pope about the fight against hunger, but also about initiatives to end the war in Ukraine.

The Brazilian president’s proposal, little heard by Western powers so far, involves the creation of a group of countries that can mediate and bring Kiev and Moscow to a negotiating table.