St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Vatican

(25 Apr 09 - RV) Pope Benedict received the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Everard Gonsalves, in an audience on Saturday.
 The Prime Minister governs over the island nation in the Lesser Antilles chain of the Caribean sea.

Its territory consists of the main island of St Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines.
 Mr Gonsalves is leader of the united Labour party that won a large majority in elections in both 2001 and 2005 and has been Prime Minister of these 125 islands since 2001.

He entered politics at a young age having completed degrees in Political Science and Law.


The majority of the nation is Christian with Catholics making up 11 per cent of the population and Protestants making up 80 per cent.Administratively, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is divided into six parishes with five on Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines together comprising the sixth.
The capital Kingstown is located in the Parish of St. George.
The nation which is a parliamentary democracy has both a French and British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations having gained its independence in 1969.