Pope Benedict received U.S. First Lady Laura Bush on Thursday and said he hoped that her stay in Italy for the start of the Olympics would be peaceful.
Mrs. Bush and her daughter Barbara are in Italy as head of the official U.S. delegation to the Turin games, which start on Friday. The last time she visited the city was for the April funeral of Pope John Paul.
The First Lady, Barbara and Francis Rooney, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, spoke privately for about 15 minutes in the Pope’s study.
“We hope you will have a peaceful time,” the Pope told Mrs. Bush and her daughter as he welcomed them into his private study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
Mrs. Bush is due to have lunch with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and visit a Rome hospital before heading to Turin for the start of the games.
She will also visit U.S. military personnel stationed at the Aviano air base in the north before returning to the United States.