The Chair of the National Assembly, Mihaela Dotsova, and the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation she led were received by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on the occasion of May 24, the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture, and of Slavic Literature, the parliament’s press centre reported on Friday.

“We had an extremely cordial and very honest meeting, which lasted longer than usual,” Dotsova told journalists after a conversation with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

“Pope Leo XIV conveyed and expects Bulgaria, as a country located at a crossroads, to be one of the creators of bridges for peace and to send his blessing to the entire Bulgarian people,” she pointed out. Dotsova announced that she had extended an invitation to the Pope, and he had promised to do everything possible to continue the tradition, which has already been established by previous heads of the Roman Catholic Church, to visit Bulgaria in order to send a blessing on the spot and his wishes for peace and cordiality.

Dotsova presented Pope Leo XIV with an icon of Saint John of Rila – the founder of the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian delegation also donated a hand-woven Chiprovtsi carpet. In the 16th-17th centuries, Chiprovtsi became one of the most important centres of Bulgarian Catholicism, and the world-famous masterfully woven carpets from the picturesque Stara Planina town are a symbol of the deep historical and spiritual connection between Bulgaria and the Holy See, the parliament’s press centre said in a statement.

Pope Pope Leo XIV presented the National Assembly Speaker with a plaque depicting children praying for peace around the world, as well as an album about the Vatican, the Bulgarian parliament’s press office said.