March 19, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis greeted 132 official delegations that came to Rome, to congratulate him and welcome  his Pontificate. He greeted them one by one in St. Peter's Basilica.
 
The delegations that were highlighted the most were the ones from Argentina and Italy. The Vatican was quite busy. Among the heads of state and dignitaries there were six current Monarchs, 32 Heads of State, three heirs to the throne and 11 government leaders.


Ten Heads of States from Latin America attended. Among them was Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, who along with his wife asked the Pope to bless a few religious items. The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa brought his mother to the Mass.

Brazilian President Vilma Roussef was also there, as well as Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose wife gave the Pope a Papal hat.

Vice- President Joseph Biden led the delegation of the United States. The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was also in attendance, as well as Spain's prince and princess, headed by the government's president, Mariano Rajoy.

Countries where Christians are a minority, were also represented, like Bahrain, Morocco, Israel and Turkey.

The Pope greeted each of the delegations and payed special attention to countries where wars or violent conflicts are an every day reality.

Before leaving the Basilica, he took the time to greet and thank the personnel team who made sure everything was ready for him and his guests, inside the Basilica.


RCG/MJ
CTV
-JM
-BN
-u:OF