Pope Leo meets Prime Minister of Republic of Albania

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Leo XIV received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, in the Vatican on Thursday morning.

The Prime Minister subsequently met with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Under-Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, at the Secretariat of State.

According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the conversations at the Secretariat of State were cordial, and "issues of common interest concerning relations between the ecclesial community and civil society were discussed."

Attention, the Vatican communiqué added, was also given to regional issues, "including the situation in the countries of the Western Balkans and Albania's path toward full integration into the European Union."

Pope Leo receives the Prime Minister of Albania   (@Vatican Media)