President Higgins to meet with Pope Francis in the Vatican

The pair meet previously in the Vatican in 2017 and 2021, and at Áras an Uachtaráin in 2018,. File Picture

President Michael D Higgins and Pope Francis are to meet in the pontiff's library in the Vatican on Thursday.

At the meeting, it is expected that President Higgins and the Pope will discuss a number of global issues, including climate change, migration, global poverty, food security, the rights of indigenous people, and global peace.

It will be the fourth time they have met each other. The pair met previously in the Vatican in 2017 and 2021, and at Áras an Uachtaráin in 2018. President Higgins also met with Pope Francis at his Papal Inauguration in 2013.

At the meeting, President Higgins plans to present Pope Francis with a sculpture entitled ‘The Expelled’ by renowned Irish sculptor John Behan RHA.

A spokesperson for President Higgins said that he chose to present the sculpture to Pope Francis "in recognition of the vital work which the Pope has carried out in drawing public attention to the plight of refugees and migrants across the world."

Following the meeting with the Pope, President Higgins will also hold a bilateral discussion with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin.

Thereafter, President Higgins will then travel to Campo Santo in the Teutonic Pontifical College, where he will lay a wreath in honour of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, whose work saved thousands of lives during the Nazi occupation of Rome in World War II. 

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Monsignor O’Flaherty, who was born in Cork.

Later, President Higgins will attend the exhibition ‘Ireland and the Birth of Europe’ at the Irish Pontifical College, which tells the story of the role played by Irish scholars and missionaries in helping shape a shared European identity.

The events take place as part of a five-day programme that President Higgins is undertaking in Rome to coincide with his participation in the World Food Forum.

The President delivered addresses at the Opening Session of the Forum and at the annual observance of World Food Day at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation on Monday.

On Friday, he will provide the keynote address at the Forum's closing session. He also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome on Tuesday.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB