Private audience at the Vatican
Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the Vatican where she met Pope Francis for a private audience. They discussed globalisation, the European Union and the role of Europe in the world.
A visit to the Vatican - Pope Francis welcomes Angela Merkel to a private audience
Photo: Bundesregierung/Bergmann
"I made it quite clear that I consider it vitally important that we continue to maintain and consolidate the foundations on which our societies are built," said Angela Merkel after the audience. "In this context, I believe that the Roman Catholic Church plays a key role. I think Pope Francis has also stated unequivocally that Europe is needed in the world, and that we need a strong and just Europe."
After her audience with the pontiff, the Chancellor met briefly with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States.
18 May 2013: On Saturday morning Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived at the Vatican ...
... where Pope Francis received her for a private audience.
The Chancellor brought the Pope three volumes of poetry by Friedrich Hölderlin and CDs featuring the composer and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.
The Chancellor first met the Pope when he took office in March; this was their second meeting.
Relations between the Holy See and the Federal Republic of Germany have traditionally been good.
Relations traditionally good
It was the second time the Chancellor had met Pope Francis. Angela Merkel attended the inaugural mass of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013 in Rome.
Relations between the Holy See and the Federal Republic of Germany have traditionally been good. Pope Benedict XVI attended the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005, and in 2009 he met Federal President Horst Köhler for a private audience. In 2011 the Pope was invited by Federal President Christian Wulff to visit Germany and in 2012 Federal President Joachim Gauck made an official visit.
Concordats
The relations between a sovereign state or constituent state and the Holy See are regulated in a treaty known as a concordat. Individual German federal states have concordats with the Holy See, which regulate:
• religious freedom, the freedom to make appointments to Church offices, a guarantee that Church property will be respected and that the Church can manage its assets
• joint concerns of the state and the Church including religious instruction, theological faculties, pastoral care for forces personnel and institutions, cemetery regulations, marital law and the entitlement of the Church to levy church tax
• state services, building obligations, state subsidies and the replacement of state services.