Macedonian state and church officials, led by Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski, which pays a visit to Rome on event "Macedonia Honors St. Cyril" Friday was received by the Pope Francis.
Earlier, the Metropolitan of Prespa and Pelagonija Petar held religious service in honour to St. Cyril in the "San Clemente" basilica and Macedonian delegation and many citizens bowed on the tomb of St. Cyril, MIA reports.
Parliament Speaker Veljanoski after tęte-ŕ-tęte meeting said that the Pope Francis underlined that Macedonia has given a lot for the Christianity. Veljanoski invited Pope Francis to visit Macedonia and entire region.
His visit will give additional stimulus to all developments in the region, Veljanoski said who informed the Pope on World Conference on Dialogue Among Religions and Civilizations, which has been recently held in Skopje.
Conducting dialogue means a lot to him as well because as he said the problems that exist in Europe and in the world can be resolved through dialogue among people, religions, politicians, Veljanoski said.
Macedonian delegation presented the Pope Francis with a gift - rosette in lace carving, flower motif of walnut tree and represents a symbol of our 1.200 years old tradition.
Holy See State Secretary Tarcisio Bertone who also met with Veljanoski and Macedonian delegation said that Macedonia has done a lot for the members of all religious communities including the Roman Catholic believers.
Bishop Petar who led the religious service on the on the tomb St. Cyril reminded on the work of the Holy Brothers, SS. Cyril and Methodius on fulfilling their obligation.
Moreover, actor Petar Temelkovski will perform the monodrama "Justinian I", written by Jordan Plevnes.
This year marks the 1144. anniversary from the death of Pan-Slavic educator St. Cyril.
The state delegation includes Deputy Foreign and Culture Ministers, Zoran Petrov and Dragan Nedeljkovic, Deputy-Parliament Speaker Suzana Saliu, MPs Aleksandar Spasenovski and Andrej Petrov. The church delegation is made up of Metropolitan of Prespa and Pelagonija Petar, as well as priests of Skopje Catholic Church, Zoran Stojanov and Marjan Ristovski.
