TIRANA, October 10 – The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazović met on Monday the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis as he was welcomed in an official reception which included a traditional honor guard of the Swiss Guard.
During the cordial discussion, appreciation was expressed for the good existing bilateral relations, said an announcement released by the press office of Montenegrin government.
Furthermore, the positive contribution of the Catholic community to Montenegrin society was highlighted.
It is Abazović’s second meeting with Pope Francis. They met for the first time in December 2021, when Abazović was the Deputy Prime Minister.
PM Abazović also met with Cardinal Pietro Paolin, the Secretary of State, and Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States.
Abazović and his delegation visited the Apostolic Library. The Library presented two manuscripts of historical importance for Montenegro. The first is the correspondence of King Mihailo Vojislavljević of Duklja with Pope Gregory VII, dated 9 January 1078, while the second is the original monumental work ‘Church Chronicle’ by Archbishop Andrija Zmajević, handed over to the Vatican in 1694 personally by the author, and discovered only in 2021 and 2022.
PM Abazović is the first state official of Montenegro to whom the mentioned documents were presented.
In the meantime the portal Pamflet quoted the Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti which announced on Monday that “a document from the beginning of the first millennium is expected to be handed over to Abazović when the Vatican crowned the Albanian ruler of Montenegro, who, as it is known, was a Balsha.” /Argumentum.al
