VATICAN CITY –  Qatari princess Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned has had a private audience with Pope Francis at which she told the pontiff about her work as head of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and discussed her visions for the future, the Vatican said.

Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the second wife of Hamad al-Thani, the Qatari emir from 1995 to 2013, and the mother of the current emir, explained to the pope on Saturday the wide-reaching nature of her work and the development of her Foundation which fundamentally promotes education and social progress on both national and international levels. She went on to outline the grave educational situation in areas of conflict and her desire to radically improve the current circumstances. Francis gave his approval and encouraged the plans of the project, the Vatican said.

In addition to discussing her role as the head of her foundation, the Sheikha went on to talk with the pope about the current migrant crisis that is facing the Mediterranean. She showed her appreciation of Italian authorities’ work in dealing with the influx of migrants but raised her concerns that not enough is being done on a wider scale. In her letter she describes the Mediterranean as a “long-standing spectator of the unfolding of the history of humanity” but laments Europe’s current situation which “no longer represents a struggle for power, but an area of defenceless suffering.”

An exchange of gifts followed during which the Qatari princess presented the pope with a richly-covered, precious manuscript of the Gospels in Arabic.  Francis gave her a locket of an olive branch of peace and an Arabic translation of his encyclical letter ‘Laudato si’.

Following her 30-minute private meeting with the pope, Sheikha Nasser Al Missned then had a meeting with Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the deputy to the Vatican Secretary of State, accompanied by Monsignor Michael Crotty, a senior Vatican diplomat with expertise on the Arab world, for talks on the situation of the Catholic community in Qatar. Between them they signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which refers to the common interest of the Qatar Foundation and the Vatican of sharing manuscripts concerning Qatari history, culture, inheritance and science on a digital platform, which can then be used for furthering research.

Both parties reported a positive meeting, with the Qatari princess publically stating her confidence following her discussions both with the pope and subsequently the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, in their collaborative plans surrounding the lessening of educational and migrant crises in the future.

 “During my talks with His Holiness Pope Francis and prime minister Matteo Renzi, I spoke about the situation of refugees, the fundamental importance of education and of things that we can do to prevent future crises,” she said.