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         World Dignitaries Present at Vatican for Pope's Inaugural Mass

   by VOA News

   The Vatican is prepared for a huge crowd Tuesday as Pope Francis hosts
   political leaders from 130 nations and representatives from a variety
   of religions for his installation Mass.
   Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pack St. Peter's Square
   for the celebration, which formally installs Francis as the new leader
   of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
   Among the high-level guests, the spiritual leader of the world's
   Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew, is expected to attend.  He would be
   the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to witness a papal
   inauguration since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000
   years ago.
   More than 30 delegations of other Christian churches, as well as
   representatives from the Jewish, Muslim and various other faiths, also
   will attend.
   Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner arrived prior to
   Tuesday, in order to meet with the new pope, who hails from her
   country.  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic, also is one of the
   political leaders in attendance.
   The Vatican released Pope Francis' new coat of arms, which is similar
   to the one he used as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.  It features symbols
   of Jesus, his mother Mary and her husband Joseph, as well as the new
   papal trappings of a bishop miter and the crossed keys of the Holy See.
   Vatican officials also released details of Francis' official ring,
   which once was offered to Pope Paul VI, who presided over the second
   half of the Second Vatican Council, which is credited with modernizing
   the Roman Catholic Church.
   Francis will receive the ring during Tuesday's installation Mass.
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   for-popes-inaugural-mass/1624083.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/world-dignitaries-present-at-vatican-for-popes-inaugural-mass/1624083.html