Pope Leo XIV Welcomes Costa Rica's President
Fernández invited the Holy Father to venerate Our Lady of the Angels and raised concerns about Nicaraguan migrants and security cooperation.
Pope Leo XIV received Costa Rican President Laura Fernández Delgado in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on Thursday, October 29. Their conversation lasted about half an hour and covered the realities facing Costa Rica together with the country’s relations with the Holy See.
Fernández used the occasion to invite the Pope to visit Costa Rica and to venerate the image of Our Lady of the Angels, the country’s patroness. She pointed out that the most recent papal visit occurred when St. John Paul II came to Costa Rica in March 1983. The president presented the Holy Father with coffee from various regions of Costa Rica and with an image of Our Lady of the Angels.
Meetings at the Secretariat of State
After the audience with the Pope, Fernández held talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, and with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States. Those present expressed satisfaction with the quality of relations between the Holy See and Costa Rica and between the Costa Rican state and the local Church.
The exchanges addressed sociopolitical issues in Costa Rica and across the region. Special attention was given to security and to migration. Fernández highlighted the presence of Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica and the cooperation her government maintains with the United States on deportation processes. She also outlined security measures that combine investment in education, health care, and support for young people with efforts aimed at preventing imprisoned organized-crime figures from continuing to direct violence from behind bars.
President's Impressions
Fernández later said she had felt “like at home” in the encounter. She described Pope Leo XIV as close and affable, and she remarked that the people of Costa Rica had prayed for him. She found him to be in good spirits and in good physical condition following a recent medical procedure, though she confirmed that they did not speak directly about his recovery.