Pope Pays Courtesy Visit to Mexican President in Guanajuato

Guanajuato, Mexico, Mar 24. – Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday will pay a courtesy visit to Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the House of Count Rul, during the second day of his stay in the central state of Guanajuato.

Benedict XVI will be welcomed by Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala, and after the introduction of the president's relatives and their respective delegations, exchange of gifts and the official photo, they have a private conversation.

A meeting between the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Secretary of Interior Alejandro Poire will run parallel in another hall of the building.

His Holiness arrived in Mexico on Friday from Rome, Italy, in the first pastoral visit to a Spanish-speaking country in Latin America.

Calderon officially welcomed the head of state of Vatican City at the international airport in Guanajuato, Silao.

In his welcoming speech, Calderon expressed the Mexican people's happiness for the Pope's visit.(Prensa Latina)