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A “landmark meeting”: Ghana’s Vice President on Encounter with Pope Francis at Vatican, Says Pope “prayed for Ghana”

Pope Francis with Vice President Bawumia of Ghana in the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

It was a “landmark meeting”, Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said about his encounter with Pope Francis on Wednesday, April 24 at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

In a Tweet shortly after the meeting, Dr. Bawumia said he had “paid a working visit to the Vatican and had the honor and privilege to meet with His Holiness.”

“This landmark meeting afforded me the opportunity to discuss many national and global issues with Pope Francis and to strengthen Ghana's long-standing relationship with the Vatican State and the Pope,” he said. 

“Pope Francis prayed for Ghana and her leaders,” the Vice President of the West African nation recalls in his message on X.

He goes on to highlight his meeting with the Vatican Secretary for relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, as well as “Ghana’s pride, Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, who was kind to show me around the Vatican.”

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According to an April 24 statement by the Holy See Press Office, Dr. Bawumia’s meeting with Archbishop Gallagher involved “cordial talks”, with the English Vatican official acknowledging with appreciation “the good relations between the Holy See and Ghana”.

During the meeting, “attention was focused on some aspects of the country's political and socio-economic situation, especially concerning collaboration in the fields of education and health.”

According to the Holy See report, Ghana’s Vice President and Archbishop Gallagher shared “views on current international issues, with particular reference to security problems in countries in West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea”.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, the representative of the Holy Father had a meeting with the country’s Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, in which the Catholic Church’s “critical role” in healthcare, education, and humanitarian support were highlighted. 

In a Wednesday, April 24 Facebook post following his meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya, Mr. Gachagua says, “Kenya appreciates the programs of the Catholic Church in our Nation and the message of the Holy Father on Climate Change that the world should have been more responsive.”

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“On peace efforts in the region, the church has been instrumental in finding lasting solutions to peace in our region, and the Government of Kenya remains committed to these efforts championed by the church,” DP Gachagua says.

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