On Saturday morning Pope Francis invited the Chancellor to attend a private audience in the Vatican. One of the points the Chancellor discussed with the Pope were the priorities of Germany's G7 Presidency.

Shared issues

The issues that are priorities for the German G7 Presidency are also extremely important to Pope Francis and the Catholic Church, said the Chancellor after her meeting. This is particularly true of poverty, she said, which pleased her.

Another priority of Germany will be the health sector. "We have already raised our funding contribution to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and I was able to report to the Pope on this," said Angela Merkel. Another 300 million children could be vaccinated within the next few years, especially in Africa. Vaccination will help these children grow up healthy.

This was the third time the Chancellor had met the head of the Catholic Church.

In her video podcast she said she was looking forward to the visit. Poverty reduction, climate change mitigation and health are all issues that the Pope too considers highly important. After her meeting with the Pope, Angela Merkel will meet with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Their meeting will concentrate on international matters.

After talks with French President François Hollande in Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel flew on to Rome on Friday afternoon. She first met with Annette Schavan, German Ambassador to the Holy See, as well as members of the scientific and academic community and Church representatives.