Monday, April 27, 2015

Swedish Queen at the Vatican

At 10:00am today, in the private library in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received Her Majesty, Queen Sylvia of Sweden along with a few of her family members and staff in a private audience.

Her Majesty took part this afternoon in a workshop which took place at the Pontifical Academy of Science.  This workshop was organized by the Swedish Embassy to the Holy See and by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences on the theme of the fight against human trafficking, with particular attention paid to children.  Her Majesty subsequently visited the Vatican Apostolic Library where she inaugurated the new distribution desk which was constructed through a contribution from the King Gustavo VI Adolfo Foundation.

The conversation between the Queen and the Pope was conducted mostly in Spanish, a language which is well known to the Queen.  Her Majesty informed the Pope about activities that she is sponsoring in Sweden, especially to benefit children; the Pope took advantage of the occasion to express gratitude for the welcome which has been offered by Sweden to refugees and migrants.  Among the gifts presented by Queen Sylvia to the Pope, there are three small books of prayers in Swedish which are suitable for children.  These books came about because of circumstances which the Queen herself holds very dear: she believes strongly in the religious education of her children, something for which the Pope expressed his deep appreciation.

Since Princess Madeleine, along with her husband and their one-year-old daughter Leonore had also accompanied Queen Sylvia, the Pope was also able to spend some precious time with this young family.

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