(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis received the Federal
President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen,
on Thursday at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, accompanied
by a delegation composed of twenty people.
The private audience between the two in the Library Room lasted
about 25 minutes. At the beginning, the Pope said in German to
his guest: ''I need an interpreter''.
At the end, after the presentation of the Austrian delegation,
an exchange of gifts took place. President Van der Bellen
offered the Pontiff a wooden basket full of bread, handmade by a
workshop run by disabled people. ''We should now share the
bread'', said the Pontiff smiling. Francis gave the head of
state the bronze sculpture of an olive branch and German version
of his ''Evangelii gaudium'', ''Amoris laetitia'' and ''Laudato
si'''. (ANSA).
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