Argentinian to Argentinian, it is a great honor to see you, your Holiness. And thank you very much. Thank you very much for receiving us.
The Pope met Dani Dayan, the president of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance, in the Vatican. Dayan was born in Buenos Aires, just like Pope Francis.
Dayan gave the Pope a replica of an image of the ark of the Torah. The original was found in the synagogue of Cernăuți, Romania. This is one of the few things that survived the destruction of the Holocaust in that area. Now it is being safely preserved in Israel.
It was in a synagogue, as I told you, that was abandoned. Because the Jews had been killed, but the synagogue was left intact. And the original is today in Yad Vashem, in the synagogue.
Pope Francis gave Dayan a bronze sculpture of olive branches, a typical gift from the Pope symbolizing peace. During the meeting, Dayan invited him to Israel.
Let us hope that we can also welcome him at Yad Vashem when he arrives in Jerusalem.
At the end of the private audience, Pope Francis said goodbye asking for prayers and his visitors wished him good health.
RM
TR: KG
