site.btaPM Zhelyazkov Congratulates Pope Leo XIV, Expresses Confidence Relations between Bulgaria and the Vatican Will Continue to Develop Positively

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov congratulated His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, wishing him health, longevity, and wisdom. The two had a brief conversation after Sunday's solemn Mass at the Vatican, when the heads of delegations attending the event met with the Pope, the government information service reported. 

Zhelyazkov is heading a the Bulgarian Government delegation to the solemn Mass marking the start of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

In his conversation with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Prime Minister Zhelyazkov expressed confidence that relations between the Bulgarian State and the Vatican would continue to develop positively. The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of the good dialogue between the Vatican and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the press release noted.

Zhelyazkov and Pope Leo XIV also discussed the upcoming meeting on the eve of May 24. As per tradition, next week, when one of the most cherished holidays in Bulgaria is celebrated –  the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and of Slavic Literature – a Bulgarian delegation will visit the Vatican. The delegation will again be led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

The delegation led by the Bulgarian Prime Minister also included Deputy Prime Ministers Atanas Zafirov and Grozdan Karadjov, as well as Bulgaria’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Kostadin Kodzhabashev.