It was a true honour to experience a private audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican today.

Cooperation between different faiths can be a catalyst for unity as well as a driving force behind action to protect the planet.

I am grateful to the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Holy See for their visit this week. And for their engagement on a range of issues, including today synodality and the question of abuse. Thanks also to all those who met them - including Hans Zollner SJ shown here.

Delighted to welcome The All Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See today. The Group heard from UISG International Union of Superiors General Talitha Kum Rome about the extraordinary work of women religious on the ground, from modern slavery to climate change, and how working together is making a difference

🇬🇧supports the Media Freedom Coalition #WorldPressFreedomDay statement celebrating the crucial role played by journalists & media workers globally, despite the unprecedented range of threats and challenges to their work #defendmediafreedom

mediafreedomcoalition.org/joint-statemen…

#PressFreedom is essential for developing a sound critical sense and for learning to distinguish truth from falsehood. It helps us work for justice, peace, and respect for Creation while shunning ideologies. #WPFD

Marking #AnzacDay2024 this evening Domus Australia in honour of those who have fallen in service to their countries, notably the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought on the Gallipoli peninsula in World War I #LestWeForget

A pleasure to host members of the Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain today and to tell them about our work UK in Holy See 🇬🇧🇻🇦. All have been honoured by🇻🇦with awards in recognition of outstanding service- in fields ranging from charities to the courts, from finance to schools

And we’re delivering the largest military aid package to Ukraine.

£500 million in funding and vital equipment including 400 vehicles, 1,600 munitions and 4 million rounds of ammunition.

We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes 🇬🇧🇺🇦

Today is a landmark moment in the defence of the United Kingdom.

We’ll spend an extra £75 billion in defence over the next six years.

▪️ Protecting our security and prosperity
▪️ Backing Ukraine for the long-term
▪️ Leading the way in European security

Today has a special resonance in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿and in the 🇻🇦: St George’s Day and Pope Francis’ name day.
Did you know that it was King Edward III who named St George the patron saint of England in around 1350? Happy St George’s Day!

To mark St George's Day - here are some pictures I took of his tomb when I visited last summer.

An enlightened discussion with Chris Trott the UK’s ambassador to the Vatican discussing City of London initiatives on ethical AI and Space protection and exploring what role the Vatican and more importantly faith could play in helping to address these issues. 🇻🇦🇬🇧

We UK in Holy See 🇬🇧🇻🇦 were pleased to host with IrishEmbassy HolySee today the launch of the Oxford History of British and Irish Catholicism, which has over 80 contributors and 5 volumes! With editors including James Kelly and John McCafferty. Thanks to St Isidore’s College for having us

‘Let us not deprive women of their voice’ - Pope Francis in his monthly prayer intention for the role of women.

An interesting opportunity this morning to hear about Cardinal Czerny’s recent visit to South Sudan. We discussed the situation on the ground, and the important role played by the churches and religious in supporting the people of 🇸🇸.

Having worked in a number of countries across Africa I’ve seen for myself the hugely important contribution of Faith Based Orgs in providing health and education. V pleased to join my FCDO colleague Juliette, Italy to Holy See & Medici con l'Africa | Doctors with Africa this morning to discuss partnership.

FCDO Deputy Director of Development Policy, Juliette Prodhan, says FBOs are important partners for 🇬🇧. Delivering locally led development, particularly in fragile states. Juliette saw firsthand the massive outreach of the Catholic Church while based in 🇨🇩🇸🇸

In today's BFL session we're hearing from Gabriele Garcia from Think Twice, @Zahed Amanullah from Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and Chris Trott the UK Ambassador to UK in Holy See 🇬🇧🇻🇦, on their experiences navigating conflict within and between religious groups, and how faith has impacted their work

NEW: The UK will partner with developing countries around the globe, so that no-one is left behind in a digital world.

Our new digital development strategy sets out how we will work in partnership towards an inclusive, responsible and sustainable digital future ⤵️

Delighted to join forces with LSE Religion and Global Society UISG International Union of Superiors General the discuss climate diplomacy and engaging grass roots communities in faith-based climate action. A multi faith response to climate change is crucial to translate commitment into response at a practical level. James Walters