Pope Leo XIV received Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Wednesday, November 4, at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican in an audience that lasted about 40 minutes. According to the press release from the Holy See Press Office, after the meeting with the Pope, the president met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, at the Secretariat of State. Kast, who was accompanied by his wife, María Pía Adriasola, and members of his government, is on a tour of Europe that continues in Madrid for the Ibero-American Summit.
Peace, family, and birth rate in Kast’s words
After the audience, Kast explained that the Pope expressed his concern for peace, not only between neighboring countries but also in different parts of the world. “The Holy Father conveyed his affection and appreciation for Chile,” the president stated, adding that Leo XIV also showed interest in the family and the birth rate, a challenge that, he said, “is becoming increasingly difficult in various nations.” The president also assured that the Pope sent his blessing to the Chilean people and that he prays for each of the branches of government.
Kast recalled that the Pontiff knows the country well, having visited it several times when he was Prior General of the Augustinians. The Vatican communiqué, for its part, is more concise: it highlights “the good relations existing between the Holy See and Chile,” acknowledges the Catholic Church’s contribution to the country’s social and spiritual life, especially through popular religiosity, and notes that regional and international issues of common interest were discussed, with special attention to migration and demographic decline.
A historic image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Among the gifts Kast presented to the Pope was an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel that had been donated to La Moneda Palace and restored by the government’s heritage unit. The gift coincides with the centenary of the coronation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as Queen and Mother of Chile. The president also gave the book The Middle Ages in Chile by Father Gabriel Guarda and a box of Chilean wines.
With Gallagher, according to the Holy See, relations between the two states and the role of the Church in Chilean society were reviewed. The meeting was also attended by the Foreign Minister, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, and the Minister Secretary General of the Presidency, José García Ruminot.
Chile, outside the Pope’s travel itinerary
The audience comes on the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s trip to South America, which begins on Friday and whose announced itinerary includes Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, but not Chile. Kast, a Catholic linked to the Schoenstatt movement and a defender of life and the family, had already closed his inaugural address with a public prayer, as reported by InfoVaticana, and appointed a chaplain for La Moneda, according to information also published on these pages.