Jan. 22, 2014: U.S. president, Barack Obama, will be received in audience by Pope
Francis March 27 . This was announced by the White House and confirmed by the Vatican.
It will be Obama’s first meeting with the current Pontiff . The White House said
Obama “looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting
poverty and growing inequality'' during their March 27 meeting. Obama also plans to
meet in Rome with President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Enrico Letta. The
U.S. president will arrive in Rome as part of a trip to Europe that will see him in
The Hague, Netherlands, on 24 and 25 March for the nuclear security summit sponsored
by the Dutch government and bilateral meetings. On the 26th of the same month, Obama
will also be in Brussels for the EU-US summit, and meetings with the Belgian Government
and the NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen .