The Tribune

PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday made history by becoming the first Bahamian Prime Minister to have an audience with the Pope in the Vatican.

The audience took place at 10.30am in the Papal offices next to St Peter’s Basilica.

The Prime Minister was joined by Mrs Christie, Ministers Fred Mitchell and Ryan Pinder, and senior policy advisor Sir Baltron Bethel.

Later, the entire Bahamian delegation joined the Pope and the Prime Minister and took individual photos with the Pontiff.

The Pope and the Prime Minister spoke privately for 20 minutes before being joined by the others.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the Roman Catholic Church in the Bahamas and thanked the Pontiff for the thousands of Catholics who contributed to the development his country.

He spoke of the great pride the Bahamas has in its native son Archbishop Patrick Pinder.

The Prime Minister spoke of his special son Adam and the work that the government is doing in serving the poor through the Urban Renewal programme and children with special needs.

He also mentioned the work of the church in education generally and in migrant issues.

The Prime Minister recommitted himself to helping the poor and the under privileged.

Following the Papal audience, the two exchanged gifts and the Pope greeted each person in the Prime Minister’s party with the words: “You must pray for me. I will pray for you.”

The Prime Minister presented the Pope with a book showing a collection of Bahamian art work, a collection by Dawn Davis and a book on the 40th anniversary of independence by Wendell Jones’ Jones Communication.

Later, the Prime Minister and his delegation met with the Secretary of State Archbishop Pietri Parolin and exchanged views on world affairs.

This was the first meeting of the Secretary of State in his new post.

The Prime Minister said he would advance the name of a Bahamian to serve as non-resident ambassador to the Vatican in an effort to deepen relations on a number of issues including education and migrant issues.