Pope receives Panama president

October 26, 2013 - Pope Francis on Saturday received in private audience President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal of Panama. Martinelli later met Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti. The Vatican said that during the cordial talks the two sides exchanged views on some of the issues regarding the current situation in the Central American nation, especially the government’s social policies and development programmes. They also recalled the long Christian tradition of Panama, touching upon historic bilateral ties, especially the current Church-state relations. They also broadly reviewed the situation in the Central American region. The Holy See thanked President Martinelli for gifting the Pope a statue of Santa María La Antigua (Saint Mary the Ancient), the patroness of Panama, which is set up in the Vatican gardens. (Source: Vatican)