ROME -- New mayor for the Eternal City, Five Star Movement (M5S) luminary Virginia Raggi, had a private audience with Pope Francis Friday as is customary with new mayors to the city, however hers had had to be organised in haste just 10 days previously and falls on a day dedicated to the pontiff himself.

 After promising during her election campaign that she would be ending the tax privileges of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican, Raggi arrived at St Peter’s Basilica with her son and parents in tow for her first meeting with the pope since her inauguration just under two weeks ago.

 The visit also coincides with the celebration for the third anniversary of the Pope Francis’ election, and the young M5S mayor will be attending the festivities being held at 7 p.m. in the Embassy of the Holy See to Italy and San Marino at Villa Giorgin in Rome.

 There was initial panic, however, as to whether or not there would be an audience at all as the new M5S protocol advisors to the mayor made their first mistake, failing to appreciated that the pontiff would not be taking official audiences in the month of July.  As a result the meeting was arranged at the last minute with a letter sent in haste to the pope on June 22.  It is also interesting to note that no invitation had previously been extended either.

 This initial hiccup could have increased tension yet again between this new mayor and the Church, after Raggi pledged to make them pay tax to the ICU for any of their commercial buildings.

 Straight after the meeting Raggi announced that, “it went well – we spoke, he’s a person of profound humanity.”  She also revealed that the pope had congratulated her and expressed “emotion and happiness.”  From what can be gathered Raggi showed the pope a video montage of various messages, appeals, invitations and testimonies from the outskirts of Rome in the neighbourhoods that are in most difficulty.

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