President Obama Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican - East Idaho News
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President Obama Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican

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GETTY 32714 PopeObama?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1395916202546GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images(ROME) — President Obama met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday.

In his first official visit, which began at 10:27 a.m. in Rome, the president and the pope met for about 50 minutes — longer than many had expected — before bringing in the rest of the U.S. delegation, including Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and Press Secretary Jay Carney. One by one, the 10 members of the delegation were introduced to the pope.

Obama made the slow, formal procession to greet the pope in the ornate Small Throne Room outside the Papal Library.

“Wonderful meeting you, I’m a great admirer,” the president said. “Thank you sir, thank you.”

The two walked into the Papal Library and took seats at opposite sides of the pope’s desk.

“It is a great honor. I’m a great admirer,” the president said. “Thank you so much for receiving me.”

“I bring greetings from my family,” Obama added. “The last time I came here to meet your predecessor I was able to bring my wife and children.”

The president also presented the pope with a custom-made seed chest featuring a variety of fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House Garden. The chest is made from American leather and wood from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The inscription on the chest reads: “Presented to His Holiness Pope Francis by Barack Obama President of the United States of America, March 27, 2014.”

This is Obama’s second visit to the Vatican as president but his first with this pope. In 2009, he and first lady Michelle Obama met Pope Benedict XVI, now pope emeritus.

Will Pope Francis return the favor?

Earlier this month, the pope was invited by House Speaker John Boehner to address a joint session of Congress. Boehner extended the formal invitation on Mar. 13 in a letter to the Vatican — on the one-year anniversary of his papacy — saying the Holy Father has “awakened hearts on every continent.”

Since Paul VI made his first papal visit to the United States in 1965, three popes have come to America. John Paul II, who came to the United States seven times, visited with every president from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton.

President Obama’s stop at the Vatican comes amidst a week-long trip to Europe and the Middle East during which the issue of Russia’s incursions into Ukraine have been the key topic of discussion among world leaders.

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

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