Pope Benedict XVI Welcomes Bulgaria President

The pope expressed the wish that Bulgaria contributes effectively for building Europe so that it remains true to its Christian roots. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, accompanied by his wife Zorka Parvanova, paid a state visit to the Holy See and was granted an audience by Pope Benedict XVI on May 22.

The visit is on the occasion of May 24, the Day of the Slavic Script and Bulgarian Culture, and has become traditional since 1977.

During the papal audience, which lasted about thirty minutes, Benedict XVI delivered a short speech in French, greeting the Bulgarians for May 24, the Day of the authors of the first Slavic alphabet St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who were declared co-patrons of Europe by his predecessor John Paul II in 1980.

The pope expressed the wish that Bulgaria contributes effectively for building Europe so that it remains true to its Christian roots.

„The values of solidarity and justice, freedom and peace, which are being reaffirmed every day, are even more powerfully expressed in the eternal teachings of Jesus Christ," said the pope.

Culture Minister Stefan Danailov, who is part of the Bulgarian delegation to visit the Holy See, presented the pope with a very special gift - the first copy of the book "The Kingdom of the Slavs" by Mauro Orbini, printed in 1601 in the Italian town of Pezaro.

The precious book was published in Bulgaria in 300 copies. In 1603 the Catholic church blacklisted and banned the book with the recommendation that Orbini takes out the Byzantines from the list of cited authors.

Later in the day the Bulgarian president will be officially welcomed by the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta.

 

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