This Monday, León XIV received in audience, at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Holy See reported on the meeting in its daily bulletin, without providing further details on the topics discussed.
Through his social media, Lula described the meeting as an “excellent encounter” along with his wife, Janja. According to the president, they discussed religion, Brazil, and global challenges. The president congratulated the Pope on his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, highlighting its message that “we cannot separate faith from love for the poorest.”
Lula emphasized that he told the Pontiff about his closeness to figures from the Brazilian Church such as dom Hélder Câmara, dom Luciano Mendes de Almeida, dom Evaristo Arns, and dom Jaime Spengler, as well as his experience with the Basic Ecclesial Communities.
Topics Discussed
The president explained that he spoke with León XIV about the fight against hunger, recalling that Brazil left the FAO’s Hunger Map for the second time under his mandate. He also pointed out the importance of taking this debate to the world through the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
Likewise, Lula invited the Pope to participate in COP30, which will be held in 2025 in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon. Although the Pontiff will not be able to attend due to coinciding with the Jubilee, he assured that there will be official Vatican representation.
Invitation to Brazil
The Brazilian president assured that León XIV expressed his desire to visit Brazil “at the appropriate time” and recalled the strong faith bond of the Brazilian people, particularly toward Our Lady of Aparecida, the country’s patroness.
Lula was accompanied at the audience by the first lady and several ministers, including Fernando Haddad (Finance), Wellington Dias (Social Development), and Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development).