VATICAN CITY - Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rt Hon. Angela Rayner met with Pope Francis earlier this week after mass in St Peter's Square.  

 The Deputy PM took to X to record the event posting "I was honoured to be able to greet His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican this morning."  "Pope Francis has shown great leadership on addressing the global issues of our time and building bridges of dialogue among faiths."  

 Ms Rayner is away from Westminster to attend the Pontignano Conference in the Italian capital, which aims to strengthen UK-Italian ties in response to shared challenges.

tjpw