Boric to Meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican: Human Rights, Gaza, Climate and AI Top the Agenda

Starting Monday, October 13, President Gabriel Boric will undertake a working visit to Rome (Italy), where his first engagement will be a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

Traveling with the President are Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren; Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency Macarena Lobos; Senate President Manuel José Ossandón; Senator Loreto Carvajal; and Senators Sergio Gahona and Juan Ignacio Latorre.

Before departing, in Chile, Boric met with the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí, to refine the objectives of the official visit to the Holy See and the private audience the head of state will hold with Pope Leo XIV, as has been customary for former presidents who met with the respective Bishop of Rome.

Schedule

Beginning the agenda on Monday the 13th at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, the President will discuss with the Holy Father issues related to human rights, historical memory, and today’s global challenges, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the triple climate crisis, the urgent need to fight poverty, and the challenges and impacts of artificial intelligence in the contemporary world.

They will also delve into the role of the Catholic Church during Chile’s civic-military dictatorship, the legacy of the Vicariate of Solidarity, and the importance of Luisa Riveros, a social leader who reported human-rights violations in Chile to Pope John Paul II.

Later, with the aim of deepening opportunities for cooperation between Chile and the Holy See, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Afterward, as part of the official visit, the head of state will tour the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where the tomb of Pope Francis is located, to pay tribute to his «spiritual, social and Latin American legacy», according to a statement from the Presidency.

On Tuesday the 14th, the President of Chile will preside over the opening ceremony of the ‘Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum’ of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), one of the most successful initiatives supporting family, smallholder and Indigenous agriculture led by the international agency.

Before this event, Boric will hold a bilateral meeting with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu to review the organization’s work in Chile and reaffirm the country’s commitment to global food security, the fight against hunger, and the promotion of sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems.

«Remote» participation in Enade

On Tuesday the 14th, in the afternoon in Rome and the morning in Chile, the President will take part remotely in the opening of the National Business Meeting, ENADE 2025.

The following day, Wednesday the 15th, Boric will lead the Chile–Italy Business Meeting, organized by InvestChile to promote investment in the country and reinforce its position as a hub in Latin America. Around 100 Italian investors are expected to attend, with discussions focused on Chile’s main commercial opportunities and advantages.

Finally, also on Wednesday the 15th, Gabriel Boric and Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella will lead a seminar commemorating the 50th anniversary of the attack against Chilean minister and lawmaker Bernardo Leighton and his wife Ana María Fresno, carried out by agents of the dictatorship in Rome on October 6, 1975.

The event, jointly organized by Italy’s Vittorio Occorsio Foundation and the Embassy of Chile in Italy, will highlight the importance of the Christian Democrat figure in Chile and, later, during his exile in Rome, underscoring his leadership and intent to unify the opposition to the dictatorship.

The heads of state will then hold a bilateral meeting at the Quirinale Palace to discuss the global outlook and matters of common interest such as the situation in Gaza and Ukraine, the importance of the Advanced Framework Agreement signed between Chile and the European Union, and to assess progress in the bilateral relationship and identify opportunities to further strengthen it.

It is worth recalling that in July 2023, President Boric received President Mattarella on an official visit at La Moneda Palace, where cooperation agreements on sustainable development and diplomatic training were signed.

The Presidency reported that the President and the accompanying delegation will return to Santiago on Wednesday, October 15, landing in the capital on the morning of Thursday the 16th.

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El Ciudadano