HSH Prince Albert II paid a day-long visit to the Vatican City, and then to Rome, on October 16th. The Prince’s first stop was to visit His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

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The morning meeting was held in the library of the Pope’s residence, where the two men spoke of the need for moral education, defending the right to life and the protection of  the environment. And, as was reported by the Vatican, “attention turned to themes of mutual interest including the importance of a solid cultural and moral formation of the young and the defense of life in all its phases.”

During his meeting, Prince Albert also met Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Pope Benedict’s secretary of state, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the secretary for relations with states. The Prince and the Pope also exchanged gifts. Upon the conclusion of the meeting, Prince Albert then travelled to Rome where he officially opened an exhibition on his mother, HSH the late Princess Grace. The Prince gave a speech at the opening, before a quick tour.

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The exhibition “The Grace Kelly Years: Princess of Monaco” is a travelling collection of Princess Grace’s personal belongings, including the stunning dress she wore to her 1956 wedding to HSH Prince Rainier III. There are also home videos filmed by Grace, as well as jewellery, several dresses and private family photographs. The exhibition will run in Rome until the end of February 2010 at the Palazzo Ruspoli.

Click here to view Prince Albert’s current events thread, and here for a thread regarding the Grace Kelly exhibition.

JessRulz Monaco Royals Audience, Grace Kelly, Italy, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Albert II, Princess Grace, Vatican City

King Albert and Queen Paola were received in a private audience by Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday.

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As customary for a Catholic Queen, Paola wore a white veil (in contrast to other women, who have to wear black veil), while King Albert kneeled before the Pope.

A note published by the press office of the Holy See reported: “In the course of the cordial discussions issues concerning Africa, international politics, respect for human rights and the development of peoples were treated. Recalling the history of the Church in Belgium, they then reflected on the importance of the canonization of Blessed Damien Jozef De Veuster and his exemplarity for Belgium and the whole world”.

The meeting took place the day before the canonization ceremony of Father Damien. Father Damien, a Belgian missionary priest, left for Molokai to provide medical and spiritual care for the people affected by leprosy there. He was infected while taking care of his patients.  The King and Queen had already attended a Mass in honour of Father Damien in Tremelo – the place he was born as Jozef Damian de Veuster.

Marsel Belgian Royals Audience, King Albert II, Mass, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Paola, Vatican City

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 Pope Benedict XVI began his first four-day trip to Jordan on Friday. The Pope was given a red-carpet welcome by the Jordanian King Abudllah and his wife Queen Rania.

The Pope is in the region to promote peace and dialogue between Christians and Muslims, Benedict said “My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community, and to pay tribute to the leadership shown by His Majesty the King in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam”.

Later that day, King Abdullah & Queen Rania meet with Pope at the Royal Palace in presence of their four children.

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On Sunday, the Royal couple met with Pope Benedict southwest of the Jordanian capital and visited the Jordan River where Jesus is believed to have been baptized and showed the Pope around a few archaeological sites. Later on, King Abudllah and Queen Rania along with the Pope got into golf carts along the gravel paths that line the site and stopped at a pool where archaeologists have found the remains of early churches, as well as steps leading down to the water where John the Baptist carried out his ministry. Later, the Pope went to a construction site along with the King Abdullah and Queen Rania where he blessed the cornerstones of two churches to be built for pilgrims.

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“In the Middle East, marked by tragic suffering, by years of violence and unresolved tensions, Christians are called to offer their contribution, inspired by the example of Jesus, of reconciliation and peace through forgiveness and generosity,” he said to a group of people who watched and media people.

To view the thread on the pope’s visit, click here.

dazzling Jordanian Royals Abdullah II, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Rania

 Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Monday. The Prince and the Duchess had a 15-minute audience with the Pope, followed by a meeting with the secretary of state for the Prince and a tour of the Vatican buildings for Camilla. Unusually, the Duchess was present throughout the entire meeting with the Pope; wives of visiting dignitaries are generally admitted only at the end of the audience. It is reported that the conversation included environmental concerns and global warming, an issue where the Prince and the Vatican are in agreement.

As is usual during official visits, gifts were exchanged; the Prince presented the Pope with a set of ceramic plates decorated with watercolour paintings of flowers from the Highgrove gardens and a signed photograph of himself and his wife, while the Pope gave the Prince a 500-year-old drawing of St Peter’s Basilica. It had been rumoured that the Pope’s gift would be a copy of the letter requesting an annulment of the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; however, wiser heads prevailed.

The Prince and Duchess are also visiting Italy and Germany before returning to England on Thursday. For more information about their trip, see this thread.

Lucia-mia British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales

 It’s been announced that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to meet with Pope Benedict on a visit to the Vatican this April. Before their audience, they’ll pay an official visit to Italy. It’s believed that Their Royal Highnesses will carry with them an invitation to the Pope to visit Great Britain though such an invitation was apparantly offered by Gordon Brown when he visited the Vatican earlier in the year, something the Vatican denies. Either way, this visit will be an interesting one and there’s bound to be sarky comments on two divorcees visiting the Head of the Catholic Church (comments which will make very little sense to those with half a brain but still they’ll come from the usual sources) but if the Pope does visit Great Britain he’s more than likely to be met with protests as LGBT organisations have already begun to prepare demonstrations against the Pontiff’s visit (according to the Gay Times that is). For those not concerned with such matters, it could prove to be a tiara outing for Her Royal Highness.

BeatrixFan British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Italy, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Vatican City

 Upon an invitation by His Majesty King Abdullah II, Pope Benedict XVI will start a four day visit to Jordan starting May 8. This will be the Pope’s first trip to the region as head of the Catholic Church. During the visit, King Abdullah will discuss the relations between the Kingdom and the Vatican as well as issues related to promoting inter-faith dialogue and Muslim-Christian coexistence.

The visit will be the third to Jordan by a sitting pope. Previoues visits took place in 1964 by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II in 2000.

dazzling Jordanian Royals Abdullah II, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI