Pope Francis meets with the President of the Swiss Confederation

Pope Francis welcomes the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd, on Saturday morning. Following their meeting, President Amherd visited the Secretariat of State where discussions focused on various international crises and efforts for diplomatic solutions leading to a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible.

Vatican News

Pope Francis welcomed the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd, to the Vatican the morning of 4 May. The half hour of talks led then to the customary visit to the Secretariat of State where she met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

Committed to promoting peace

A statement from the Holy See Press Office noted that the leaders discussed international issues and crises, in particular, the conflicts in Ukraine and in Israel and Palestine. All underscored the necessary commitment to promote peace and the need to search for diplomatic solutions that can lead as soon as possible to a cessation of hostilities.

Among other topics discussed, the renovation project of the Pontifical Swiss Guard barracks was mentioned with great appreciation for their "generous service to the Pope and the Holy See."

A moment during the exchange of gifts

Exchange of gifts

President Amherd gave Pope Francis a box of Swiss chocolates, a music CD by Carlos Gardel, a pitcher with glass cups showing Mount Matterhorn, and some Swiss stamps from the year of the Pope's birth. Pope Francis offered a bronze bas-relief entitled "Care for Creation," a number of papal documents, including a copy of this year's Message for the World Day of Peace, and the book on the Statio Orbis of 27 March 2020 published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV).

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