Since the Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to become the 266th pontiff in 2013 he has pursued a hands-on approach to international relations.
He is about to embark on a tour of central Africa. Indeed, this is just one of many diplomatic engagements on a tight papal agenda: in the past few days Francis has discussed the Minsk accords with Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko, convened with the Jesuit Refugee Service and held talks with Hatem Seif El Nasr, Egypt’s ambassador to the Holy See. Today the rosaries and olive wood are for an assembled group from Antigua and Barbuda who present a bright-yellow oil painting before being whisked away for talks. This is diplomacy papal style a combination of ritual, prayer and frank discussions on world affairs. Now a buzzer sounds: our cue to move through a damask-lined door to watch Pope Francis bless a tray of official gifts for a delegation of guests. We have already run the gauntlet of Swiss Guards attending the vast Portone di Bronzo doors, processed down loggias painted by Raphael, scurried along narrow passages, loitered in grand halls and been greeted by Vatican secretaries in crisp white tie. With a broad smile and swish of his cassock the pope’s private secretary, archbishop Georg Gänswein, ushers us into the inner sanctum of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.
By Sophie Grove Photography Francesca Volpi