Pope Francis calls Palestinian leader ‘angel of peace’ during visit

The meet comes days after the Vatican finalised a bilateral treaty with the “state of Palestine” that made explicit its recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Pope Francis meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during an audience at the Vatican on May 16. AP Photo

VATICAN CITY // Pope Francis praised Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as an “angel of peace” during a meeting at the Vatican on Saturday that underscored the Holy See’s warm relations with the Palestinians.

Pope Francis made the remark during the traditional exchange of gifts at the end of an official audience in the Apostolic Palace. He presented Mr Abbas with a medallion and explained that it represented the “angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war”.

The pontiff said he thought the gift was appropriate since Mr Abbas was “an angel of peace”. During the pope’s 2014 visit to Israel and the West Bank, he called both Mr Abbas and Israeli president Shimon Peres men of peace.

Mr Abbas is in Rome for Sunday’s canonisation of two 19th-century nuns from what was then Ottoman-ruled Palestine. The new saints, Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, are the first from the region to be canonised since the early days of Christianity.

On Saturday, Mr Abbas offered Pope Francis relics of the two new saints.

Church officials are holding up the new saints as a sign of hope and encouragement for Christians in the Middle East at a time when violent persecution from extremists has driven many of them away.

Mr Abbas’ visit also comes days after the Vatican finalised a bilateral treaty with the “state of Palestine” that made explicit its recognition of Palestinian statehood.

* Associated Press