Groups of Roman Catholic hierarchs, clergy, monks and students from Italy and Austria were received by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Tuesday of the Diaconal Tuesday.

The day after the passing of Pope Francis, His Holiness welcomed the groups in a spirit of cordiality to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Speaking in Italian and German, he expressed his sadness at the passing of the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church.

He said that until a few days ago he had hoped to welcome him next May in Nice, Bithynia, and to celebrate together the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. His Holiness said that Pope Francis was “a brother with whom we shared a deep friendship”, and recalled that they had had the opportunity to meet many times and work together “to strengthen the journey of our Churches towards the common chalice, and for the good of humanity”.

He referred to their meetings in the Holy Land, in 2014, in Lesvos, but also to their cooperation in raising awareness of the global public opinion on the migration and refugee issues, on the preservation of peace, and on the issue of protecting the natural environment and God’s creation as a whole.

The Fanari was visited by Archbishops Giuseppe Satriano of Bari and Bitonto and Giuseppe Satriano of Rossano and Cariati. Maurizio Aloise, with clergy and university professors of Roman Catholic Institutes, and faithful from their provinces, as well as a group of students from the Pontifical Antonianum University, led by Father Luca Bianchi, responsible for ecumenical relations. Also, a group of professors and students from the Roman Catholic Seminary of Vienna, under its Dean, Mr. Richard Tatzreiter.

As part of the visit, the Archbishop of Rossano presented His Holiness with a copy of the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, a world-renowned Greek manuscript of the 5th-6th centuries, containing the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The original Codex was admired by His Holiness during his visit to Rossano in Calabria.