Holy Father meets with Metropolitan Hilarion

On Wednesday 22 December, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, President of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, was received in a private audience by Pope Francis in the study at Paul VI Hall.

At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis and Metropolitan Hilarion exchanged gifts, with Pope Francis receiving an icon of the “Virgin of the Sign”, and offering a mosaic depicting the Virgin “Synkatabasis of God” as well as the 2022 Message for the World Day for Peace and the Document on Human Fraternity.

During his stay in the Vatican, Metropolitan Hilarion also met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Metropolitan Hilarion last visited the Vatican from 3‒6 October 2021 for the “Faith and Science: Towards COP26” meeting and for the signing of the document “Global Compact on Education”.

_{Photos © Servizio Fotografico | Vatican Media}