Pope Francis received a bloodstained relic of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero as a gift from El Salvador’s President Mauricio Funes Cartagena.
Funes had told the media before his end of May trip that the primary aim of his visit with the pope would be to express his gratitude that the archbishop’s canonization process had been “unblocked” and to encourage the sainthood process move forward. The Vatican said the pope and Funes talked about Archbishop Romero and “the importance of his witness for the whole nation” of El Salvador. The two leaders also talked about the church’s work in fostering peace and reconciliation; providing education and charity, and in fighting poverty and organized crime, the Vatican said in a written statement. “The defense of human life, marriage and the family” was also discussed, it said.
Upon meeting the pope outside the papal library, Funes told the pontiff he was “very honored” to be there. “Many thanks for receiving me and thank you very much for this audience,” the president told the Argentine pope.