Pope Francis's audience
Tuesday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lasted about 40
minutes, the press pool reported. The president was accompanied
by 12 people including one woman, the translator. The pope was
flanked by a priests who acted as translator. The pope spoke in
Italian and Rouhani in Farsi. Among the Iranian delegation was
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, while Iran's ambassador
to the Holy See was also present.
Rouhani gave the pope a hand-made carpet from the holy city
of Qom and an illuminated book. The pope gave the president a
medal showing St Martin. "It shows St Martin cutting his cape,"
the pope said, "to cover the poor man. It's a sign of freely
given brotherhood". Francis also gave Rouhani a copy of his
ecological encyclical Laudato Si', in English and Arabic, there
being no Farsi edition.
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