Rivlin to meet pope, with attacks on Christian sites on agenda

President Reuven Rivlin was set to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, for talks that will reportedly include the spate of attacks on Christian sites in Israel by suspected Jewish extremists.

It will be Rivlin’s first meeting with the pontiff since taking office last year. Francis visited Israel last June, at the tail end of Shimon Peres’ tenure as president. Rivlin will also be received at an official welcoming ceremony at the Vatican ahead of his meeting with the Pope.

The two were expected to discuss freedom of religion in Israel in the wake of the attacks on Christian sites, Army Radio reported.

After his talks with the pope, Rivlin was slated to meet with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, as well as leaders of the Italian Jewish community.

Before leaving for Rome on Wednesday, Rivlin spoke of the friendship between Israel and the head of the Roman Catholic Church, hailing the pope as an “inspirational leader.”

“I leave now to meet with a leader who is a true friend of the State of Israel, and of the Jewish people,” he said. “Pope Francis is an inspirational leader who believes in dialogue between different faiths and whose activities and statements are aimed at the promotion of this dialogue. I have no doubt that this meeting – like my meeting with the Italian president – will be fruitful and productive, and an important step toward furthering the successful cooperation between us, and strengthen [our] solid relationship.”

The president also changed his Facebook banner image to the Israeli and Vatican flags with the words “President Rivlin’s visit to Rome and the Vatican” in Hebrew, English and Latin.