Cardinal Parolin received in Paris by French Prime Minister

Vatican News

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived in Paris on Wednesday, 15 January,  for a two-day visit to participate in a colloquium organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the centenary of the exchange of letters between the Apostolic Nuncio to France, Archbishop Bonaventura Cerretti, and then French Prime Ministre Raymond Poincaré.

The exchange, which took place between 11-17 January 1924, was a landmark agreement that laid out the legal framework for the creation of diocesan associations under the bishops’ authority in France, filling a gap created by the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State -- the so-called Loi sur la Laïcité.

One hundred years on, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, along with the President of the French Bishops' Conference (CEF), Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort  of Reims, is participating in a colloquium  held on Thursday at the at the Quai d’Orsay.

The recently appointed French Prime Minister, François Bayrou, took the occasion to meet the  head of the Vatican diplomacy at Palais Matignon on Wednesday evening. Following the meeting, Cardinal Parolin was received by the Minister  the Interior Bruno Retailleau, who is also in charge of religious affairs.

Finally, the Vatican Secretary of State met on Thursday morning  with the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot, at the  Quay d'Orsay, to  discuss topics of mutual interest.