Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has congratulated Pope Leo XIV on being chosen as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
“I extend my most sincere wishes to Pope Leo XIV for the beginning of his pontificate,” Meloni wrote on X.
“In a time marked by conflict and unrest, his words from the Loggia delle Benedizioni are a powerful call for peace, brotherhood and responsibility,” she added.
She lauded “a spiritual legacy that follows the path traced by Pope Francis, and that Italy looks at with respect and hope.”
Francis, the 88-year-old former pontiff, died on Easter Monday. (dpa /NAN)
