Emmanuel Macron will be received by the Pope on October 24 in Rome

Emmanuel Macron will meet with Pope Francis on October 24 in Rome, where he must also participate in an international forum on peace, the Elysee announced on Tuesday, confirming information from diplomatic sources and the community of Sant’Egidio.

The French president will be received in a private audience by the Pope at the Vatican, the day after his participation in this interreligious summit organized by this Italian Catholic community known for being one of the channels of the “shadow diplomacy” of the Holy See. .

Emmanuel Macron will also meet his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella at a private dinner, in the context of the formation of the new government headed by Giorgia Meloni, president of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party, which won the legislative elections on September 25. , we learned from concordant sources.

An international forum for peace

The lay community of Sant’Egidio confirmed on Tuesday the presence of the French president at the opening of its annual international meeting in the presence of political and religious leaders from around the world.

This meeting, entitled “The cry of peace” and which will address in particular the war in Ukraine, will end on October 25 with a rally at the Colosseum in which Pope Francis will participate, Sant’Egidio said.

Nicknamed “the little UN of Trastevere” (after the name of the Rome district where it is based), Sant’Egidio, founded in 1968 by Catholic students around Andrea Riccardi, has over the years become an expert in peace negotiations and in international mediation.

“Peace and the urgency of building it, as well as the environmental and humanitarian crisis, with thousands of refugees forced to abandon their lands, will be the topics discussed” during the 36th edition of this meeting, Sant’Egidio said in a statement.

“We know, from the daily experience of the work of our community in many parts of the world, that the desire for peace exists, it is strong among peoples, but many times it is not listened to,” said its president, Marco Impagliazzo, on Tuesday. a press conference in Rome.