President Maduro recalls first meeting with Pope Francis (+13 years old)

The constitutional president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, recalled this Wednesday his first meeting with Pope Francis, on June 17, 2013.

“Francis, Pope who taught us the power of prayer and action (...) Cilia and I remember with deep love and gratitude a pastor of the peoples, a simple, courageous man, close to the poor and a sower of hope,” said the Head of State on his social networks.

From New York, where he has been illegally detained since January 3, the Venezuelan president recalled reading the book by the supreme pontiff Esperanza, the autobiography, highlighting the strength of his message.

“Hope is not a beautiful word or a fleeting desire. Hope is much more than that: it is the certainty that we were born to never die again, that we were born for the peaks, to enjoy happiness,” he said.

In this regard, he pointed out that, as Francis teaches, “Christian hope is invincible, because it is not just a desire for something that we would like it to be; it is the certainty that we are moving towards something that is already in God. God does not disappoint hope, because God cannot deny himself”.

“May that hope continue to guide Venezuela, the peoples of the world and all humanity towards truth, peace and life,” President Maduro emphasized in his message.