This was the last time the Spanish king and queen held a meeting with a Pope. It happened back on April 28th in the Vatican.
'The Benedictine's say: To receive a guest, is like receiving Christ.â?
'Congratulations, for all you're doing.â?
At a whopping 53 minutes, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia had one of the longest diplomatic meetings with Pope Francis, to date. Looking back at that meeting, only they know if the King mentioned his decision to pass on the thrown to his son Felipe.
Juan Carlos I was born in Rome in 1938. Over the years, he met with seven Popes. He was Baptized by Pius XII and John XXIII accepted his petition to marry Queen Sofia, who back then was Orthodox. They also met with Paul VI and with John Paul I.
The couple met with John Paul II a total of seven times. The first meeting was in 1987 and the last in 2000. During his eight year pontificate, they met three times with Benedict XVI.
The future king and queen, Felipe and Letizia Ortiz have also had their share of papal greetings. They met John Paul II in 2004 and in 2010, they met with Benedict XVI during his visit to Spain.
FELIPE DE BORBí?N
Future King of Spain
'Your love for Spain, which you have so often expressed, is something we hold dear.â?
They also personally greeted Pope Francis after he celebrated his first public Mass as Pope.
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