ROME: Pope Leo XVI did not go far afield for his first official trip abroad Tuesday --- making his way in a motorcade from Vatican City through Rome to visit Italy’s president.
The head of the Catholic Church was driven through the center of Rome escorted by the presidential guard calvary and motorcycles in a slow three-kilometer procession to the Quirinale Palace.
In an ornate ballroom, a red-and-gold-attired Leo urged Italy to “keep alive your attitude of openness and solidarity” toward migrants, calling migration “among the great challenges of our time.”
The 70-year-old pope thanked Italy for its care for children of Gaza, some 200 of whom have been treated in Rome’s hospitals since the beginning of the war in 2023.
“I express gratitude for the generous assistance this country offers to migrants who increasingly knock at its doors, as well as for its efforts in combating human trafficking,” said the pope, while citing the need for “constructive integration of newcomers into the values and traditions of Italian society.”
