Pope meets Argentine president, tweets 'Thank You"
March 17, 2014 - Pope Francis on Monday received in a private audience Argentine
president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner. In a brief note, the he Vatican Press Office
said Kirchner brought along a large delegation to wish the Pope on the occasion of
the first anniversary of his election last week, March 13. Pope Francis firsts met
the delegation and later private met and lunched with the president. This was the
third meeting between the two leaders – the first a few days after his election in
the Vatican and the second in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the World Youth Day,
last July. Also on Monday, the Pope posted a messge on the social media thanking
all for their wishes on the first anniversary of his election on March 13, last Thursday.
“Thank you for all your warm wishes on my anniversary. Please continue praying for
me,” the Pope urged in his tweet on his Twitter account @pontifex. The first anniversary
was marked without any public celebration, as Pope Francis was on his Lenten spiritual
retreat, March 9-14, at a retreat centre in Ariccia, outside Rome, along with cardinals,
bishops and other Vatican officials. As history’s first Jesuit Pope, the Argentine
pontiff chose to have his retreat the Jesuit way – away from distractions of one’s
residence and place of work. Only a tweet marked the day of his anniversary, saying,
“Please pray for me.”