On Monday, Pope Francis received Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in Vatican. The PM gave the Pope a carved nativity scene from the northern Slovak region of Orava and a glass cross depicting the Patron Saint of Slovakia; the Virgin Mary of Seven Sorrows. This was the first time in 19 years that the Pope had received a Slovak Prime Minister, with Mikuláš Dzurinda being the last one to be received by then Pope John Paul II in November 2000.
Mojmir Prochazka, Photo: AP/TASR
