At 10:30 this morning, President Michelle Bachelet arrived at the San Damaso Courtyard in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican City at the start her Official Visit to the Holy See.
The President was welcomed by the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Georg Gaenschwein, and representatives of the Gentlemen of His Holiness. She received honors from a detachment of the Swiss Guards and then went to the Sala del Tronetto (“little throne room”) to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. Following their greeting they went into the library to hold a private meeting.
After the private meeting, the Chilean delegation went into the Sala del Tronetto to meet Pope Francis. The Chilean delegation consisted of the President of the Senate, Patricio Walker; the President of the Supreme Court, Sergio Muñoz; the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marco Antonio Núñez; the Foreign Affairs Minister, Heraldo Muñoz; the Chilean Ambassador to the Holy See, Mónica Jiménez; senators Francisco Chahuán, Isabel Allende and Juan Antonio Coloma; in addition to the President of the CUT (Chile’s largest trade union), Bárbara Figueroa; the President of the CPC (Chilean Confederation of Production and Commerce), Alberto Salas; and the Mapuche craftsman, Antonio Paillafil.