February 17, 2013. (Romereports.com) Benedict XVI and Italy's prime minister, Mario Monti, met one last time before the Pope resigns on February 28th.
In addition to this meeting with Monti,
the Pope also agreed to meet
with Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano. In fact, they are the only
meetings the Pope added to his schedule after announcing his
resignation. The Vatican says it's a way to
show his gratitude to Italy
and vice-versa.
Mario Monti thanked the Pope for the eight years of his pontificate. As a gift, he gave Benedict XVI three pens, colored red, white and green, which represent the colors of the Italian flag. The Pope gave him a framed image of the Vatican Gardens.
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