Pope calls Palestinian leader ‘angel of peace’ during visit
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an “angel of peace” during a meeting at the Vatican.
Pope Francis meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during an audience at the Vatican Saturday, May 16, 2015. Photo: AP
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an “angel of peace” during a meeting at the Vatican.
Pope Francis made the compliment today (May 16) during the traditional exchange of gifts at the end of an official audience in the Apostolic Palace. He presented Mr Abbas with a medallion and explained that it represented the angel of peace “destroying the bad spirit of war”.
Pope Francis said he thought the gift was appropriate since “you are an angel of peace”.
Mr Abbas is in town for the canonisation tomorrow of two new saints from what was then Ottoman-ruled Palestine. It also comes days after the Vatican finalized a bilateral treaty with the “state of Palestine”, making explicit its recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Mr Abbas, for his part, offered Pope Francis relics of the two new saints. AP
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