His Most Reverend Excellency Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, arrived in the Republic of San Marino today. Tomorrow he will be the Official Speaker at the Investiture Ceremony of the new Captains Regent.

The first stop of his stay on Mount Titano was a brief visit to the Apostolic Nunciature, welcomed by H.E. the Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor Emil Paul Tscherrig, which was followed by the purely institutional part, starting with the meeting, at Palazzo Begni, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luca Beccari, in the presence of the Plenipotentiary of the Holy See, the Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy See, Maria Alessandra Albertini and diplomatic officials.

During the extremely cordial and fruitful talks, they retraced the most important steps of the excellent bilateral relationship, with a commitment to further strengthening consultations between the two States on international policy issues.

The Minister expressed deep gratitude to His Most Reverend Excellency for accepting the invitation to be the Official Speaker, which the Minister himself formulated to the Vatican Minister of Foreign Affairs last October, in a conversation on the sidelines of an Audience with the Holy Father.

They both discussed the importance of dialogue in international fora and analysed current geopolitical challenges, focusing on how small states can contribute. With regard to this, His Most Reverend Excellency Gallagher discussed in particular the common role played within the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). After the meeting, the Official Speaker and the respective delegations were received in audience by Their Excellencies the Captains Regent, H.E. Maria Luisa Berti and H.E. Manuel Ciavatta.

At the end of the Audience, Minister Beccari awarded His Most Reverend Excellency Gallagher the honour of Knight of the Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of Saint Agatha.

San Marino, 31 March 2023