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Added on the 20/06/2023 17:40:48 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives at the Vatican where he will meet Pope Francis. He is also due to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella during his official visit. IMAGES
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives to Planalto Palace in Brasilia for a "private meeting" with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, one day before a meeting with other South American leaders. IMAGES
Pope Francis arrives at Rome's church of Santo Spirito in Sassia for a private mass on the Feast of Divine Mercy. The reduced congregation of around 80 will include inmates from Roman prisons, as well as disabled people and refugees from Syria, Nigeria and Egypt, the Vatican have said. IMAGES
According to CNN, Pope Francis will not lead the Vatican's New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations, because of sciatic pain. This is the first time the Pope has missed a New Year's Eve celebration, but it is not the first event he skipped. On February 27, 84 year-old Pope Francis, canceled a scheduled mass, due to what The Vatican press office called a "slight imposition," denying rumors that he had Covid. Pope Francis first shared that he had sciatica (herniation of spinal disk) during an inflight press conference during a 2013 trip to Brazil. He said, "Sciatica is very painful, very painful! I don't wish it on anyone!" The Pontiff has received treatments like massages and injections to help reduce his pain. The Pope will be replaced by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, for Thursday's New Year's Eve service. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will host Mass on Friday. Pope Francis will still lead the Angelus prayer on New Year's Day.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits the country's south, where the death toll from floods caused by torrential rains has risen to 13, taking part in an emergency meeting with authorities of Rio Grande do Sul state. IMAGES TO COMPLETE VIDI34QP8HD_EN
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).