SOFIA, Bulgaria, MAY 24, 2002 (Zenit.org).- In gratitude for the welcome he received from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, John Paul II made the gift of a Rome church to Patriarch Maxim.
During his meeting today with the patriarch of 6.5 million believers, the Pope said he will cede for the «liturgical use» of the patriarch's faithful, the Catholic Church of Sts. Vincent and Anastasius, located near the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
The Pope explained in Sofia's Patriarchal Palace that it was a gesture to increase «knowledge of each other,» «mutual charity» and «fraternal cooperation» between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
The church was built by Cardinal Jules Mazarin in the 17th century, at the foot of the Quirinal Palace, residence of the president of Italy and a papal residence until the 19th century.
ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
24. mai 2002