Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič personally congratulated Pope Francis on his election and conveyed the greetings of the Slovak people during an audience with the pontiff held after the new pope’s inauguration on March 19. He also reiterated his invitation to the pope to visit Slovakia to attend the official celebration of the 1,150th anniversary of the arrival of Ss Cyril and Methodius in present-day Slovakia, as well as the 20th anniversary of the creation of an independent Slovakia and its subsequent establishment of diplomatic ties with the Holy See, the TASR newswire reported on March 19.
Pope Francis told the president that he holds the Slovak nation in high esteem, and he asked believers in Slovakia to remember him in their prayers, presidential spokesperson Marek Trubač told TASR.
Leaders from around the world gathered at the Vatican to attend the ceremonial holy mass held for the newly-elected head of the Roman Catholic Church and see him receive his papal insignia. As well as Gašparovič, Slovak Culture Minister Marek Maďarič also travelled to Rome to attend the ceremony.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
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