Accepted by Pope Francis became the Minister of Culture and Sports this morning in the Vatican, Lina Mendoni. The meeting, which took place in a particularly warm atmosphere and lasted forty-five minutes, was planned at the invitation of the Pontiff, following the donation of the three fragments of the Parthenon from the Vatican museums, which were reunited at the Acropolis Museum on Friday, March 24 .

Lina Mendoni presented the Pope with a letter from the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, thanking him for his important decision to donate to Archbishop Hieronymus, the three fragments of the Parthenon. The Minister herself referred in particular to the special importance of the Pope’s generous move, for all the Greek people, as well as Greece’s constant request for the definitive reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Greece and the Acropolis Museum.

The Pontiff emphasized the special respect he has for Greece, as the cradle of Western Civilization, while the meeting highlighted the excellent, friendly and sincere relationship between Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Pope Francis also, for his part, made special reference to the war in Ukraine and the importance of the ongoing efforts aimed at restoring peace.

Mendoni with Pope Francis

Lina Mendoni presented the Pope with a copy of a marble statue of the 1st century BC, known as “the Refugee”, which was made by ODAP, especially for the Pope, knowing the special love he has for children and his sensitivity for the refugee issue. The original statue was discovered in Gerontiko of Nysa – near Smyrna – and was brought to Greece by the archaeologist Konstantinos Kourouniotis and by Asia Minor refugees, who donated it to the National Archaeological Museum.