AUDIENCE WITH ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER

Vatican City, 16 February 2013 (VIS) – This afternoon at 6:00pm, the Pope received Senator Mario Monti, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, in a private farewell audience that, according to a communique published today, was both particularly cordial and intense.

Prime Minister Monti expressed once again the gratitude and affection of the Italian people for the Holy Father's high-minded religious and moral teaching, for his attention to social problems, and for sharing the hopes of Italy and Europe.