'Holy Father, it's such a pleasure to meet you.â?
Pope Francis met with the president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
2015 marks 25 years since the Holy See and the Czech Republic established diplomatic relations with one another.
In addition to discussing ways in which the Church contributes to the country's cultural, educational and social matters, both leaders also talked about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
Afterwards, the president introduced his delegation to the Pope.
As a gift, the president gave the Pope an image of baby Jesus and a colorful set of briefcases. He also asked him to bless the stone that will be used in two nursing homes.
The Pope gave the president a medallion of the Angel of Peace and a copy of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.
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