Spanish
Vatican. - The Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, participated this Sunday in the solemn mass of the beginning of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, representing the Dominican people.
Upon her arrival at the Vatican, Raquel Peña expressed, through her social media, her wish that the pontificate of the new leader of the Catholic Church translates into more unity and trust.
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“May this new time bring more hope, unity, and peace for all humanity,” Peña said.
The vice president was alongside other authorities from the more than 150 delegations present and thousands of parishioners of the Catholic faith during the ceremony that began at 10 a.m. (Vatican time) in St. Peter's Square.
Some of those present were the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte; the Vice President and Secretary of State of the United States, James David Vance and Marco Rubio; and the Head of State of Italy, Sergio Mattarella.
Other Latin American delegations were represented by their presidents, as was the case with Colombia, with Gustavo Petro; Paraguay, with Santiago Peña; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; Honduras, Xiomara Castro; as well as the governors of Belize and Canada.
The presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky; of Israel, Isaac Herzog; of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun; and of Poland, Andrzej Duda, also participated.
The reigning houses were represented by the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe and Letizia; the King and Queen of Belgium, Philippe and Mathilde; and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Following the inaugural mass of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, Vice President Raquel Peña, the aforementioned authorities, and many others greeted the pontiff inside St. Peter's Basilica, during a protocol process that lasted for more than an hour.
This is the second time that Raquel Peña has traveled to the Vatican, as a representative of the Government of the Dominican Republic.
In June 2022, Peña held a private audience with the then-reigning pontiff, the late Pope Francis, with whom he discussed the care of the earth and its natural resources, the cessation of conflicts affecting humanity, and asked for his prayers for the health and well-being of all the Dominican people.
