During their meeting, which took place in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis and Prince Charles discussed a number of topics of mutual interest. Pope Francis presented Their Royal Highnesses with a bronze representation of an olive branch. Their Royal Highnesses presented the Pope with a hamper of food from the Royal Estate at Highgrove, to be shared among the poor and homeless.
Following the Audience, His Royal Highness, accompanied by the Foreign Office Minister of State for Europe and Africa, Sir Alan Duncan MP, met the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The environment was one of the themes of the visit; His Royal Highness joined a round-table discussion with senior Holy See officials on the subject including officials from the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
Their Royal Highnesses also visited the Vatican Secret Archives and the Vatican Library, and were able to see a few of the valuable historic documents held in both collections. In addition, His Royal Highness met many members of the British community working at the Holy See at a small reception at the Venerable English College.
Prince Charles' visit to the Holy See is part of an Italian tour which began in the northern city of Vicenza, where he visited a Commonwealth cemetery, laying a wreath in memory of soldiers of different nationalities who died during the deployment of British forces to the Austrian front of the First World War one hundred years ago. His wife, Camilla, meanwhile, spent the day in Naples, meeting with trafficked women and youngsters with learning difficulties at a former Mafia villa which was confiscated by the State. She also visited the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum which was destroyed by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
On Sunday Prince Charles toured the earthquake hit town of Amatrice in central Italy, walking amid the rubble and talking to some of the survivors of the quake that killed nearly 300 people and left thousands of others homeless. The Duchess of Cornwall spent Sunday in Florence, visiting the Uffizi Gallery but also St Mark’s Anglican church in the city centre and revealing that her great-grandmother had lived in the city during the last years of her life.
The royal couple stayed in Florence on Monday, visiting the Caritas-run Casa San Paolino which cares for around 80 people, including single mothers with children, homeless immigrants and the elderly. They also toured an internationally renowned art restoration workshop and visited an organic food market with the founder of Italy’s Slow Food movement Carlo Petrini.
Later Prince Charles was presented with a Renaissance Man of the Year award, recognizing his achievements in the fields of philanthropy and the arts. In his acceptance speech, he highlighted the vital contribution of the UK and Italy to global peacekeeping, but also focused on the interdependence of human beings with the natural world. The royal couple’s last engagements in Italy include a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella and an encounter at the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation. They fly on to Austria tomorrow afternoon for the final leg of their nine-day European tour.
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