Two leaders with different approaches and points of view, President Donald Trump and Pope Francis met at the Vatican on Wednesday to set aside past conflicts and project a message of peace for an audience all around the world.
Midway through a demanding nine-day maiden international trip, Trump visited the pontiff in a private, thirty-minute meeting loaded with religious symbolism and old protocol. Arriving at the Vatican just after eight a.m. local time, the president was joined by his wife and a number of advisers.
After their conference, the pope presented the president with other gifts including a medal bearing an olive branch, a sign of peace.
"We can use peace," the President said.
Trump in a long motorcade, Francis in a Ford Focus, the visit started with a handshake upon each man's arrival. The president was heard thanking the pope and declaring it to be "a great honor" to be present. After posing for pictures, they sat down at the papal desk the pope unsmiling, their private conference starting.
Recent days have seen agreement between Francis and Trump on the necessity of Muslim leaders acting more against radicals in their own countries. Few other areas, though, where their points of view coincide.
It stopped half an hour later when Francis belled his private study. After that, the pontiff was presented to Trump's delegation members—including his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, wife Melania, and aides Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino.