(see related) Pope Francis on Thursday had a 30-minute meeting in the Vatican with Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian woman who was sentenced to death in majority-Muslim Sudan for apostasy. Francis thanked Meriam, who was accompanied by her husband and two small children, for her "testimony of faith" and "perseverance", said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.
The pope met Meriam at the Santa Marta residence where he lives inside the Vatican after shunning the papal apartment. The woman arrived in Rome on an Italian State flight early on Thursday after her conviction was quashed following an international outcry.
Lombardy said the pope wanted the meeting to be a "sign of closeness to all those who suffer due to their faith and practice of their faith".
The spokesman added: "it's a gesture that goes beyond the meeting and becomes a symbol".
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