PM MODI to Meet POPE: KCBC announces a meeting between His Holiness and the Prime Minister

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Rome for the G20 conference this weekend, he will meet Pope Francis for the first time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis will meet on Saturday. The historic meeting will be on Saturday at 12 noon Indian time. This was announced by the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council quoting the Vatican.

In an official statement, KCBC president Cardinal George Alenchery indicated that "meeting between His Holiness Pope Francis and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will take place on Saturday, October 30". The meeting, according to KCBC, will strengthen relationships between India and the Vatican.

The visit has also been confirmed by the Vatican. The meeting will take place at 8.30 a.m. CEST and will involve a 30-minute tête-à-tête between the Pope and PM.

The Prime Minister will arrive in Rome tomorrow to attend the G-20 summit. The summit will be held on the 30th and 31st. This is the first time the Prime Minister of India and the Head of the Catholic Church have met face-to-face since the Vajpayee-John Paul II meeting that took place in 2000.

During the meeting, PM Modi may invite the Pope to India. The Pope's visit to India did not take place due to opposition from some organizations. In 1990, Pope John Paul II was the last Pope to visit India. Earlier, Indian Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and IK Gujral met with the Pope.

With the Modi-Pope meeting, the BJP estimates that the meeting will affect the forthcoming assembly elections in Goa.  Christians, the country's largest minority, have long been a key voting bloc in Congress. In the past few months, the BJP has been attempting to win the support of the Christian community. The BJP has given unconditional support to Pala Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, who has made controversial jihad and narcotics jihad controversies.