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Russian president congratulates Pope Francis on 10th anniversary of election

It is reported that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has also sent a message to the Pope, congratulating him on the 10th anniversary of the election and highlighting the importance of dialogue between religious leaders

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

VATICAN, March 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed his congratulations to Pope Francis on the 10th anniversary of his election as Catholic pontiff, Russia’s envoy to the Holy See, Alexander Avdeyev, told TASS on Monday.

"We have today passed a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin," the diplomat said.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has also sent a message to the Pope, congratulating him on the 10th anniversary of the election and highlighting the importance of dialogue between religious leaders, according to the Russian Orthodox Church website.

Argentine cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio was elected to papacy on March 13, 2013. He is the 266th Pope and the first to take the pontifical name Francis. Over almost all of these 10 years, his predecessor Benedict XVI lived at the Vatican as an honorable Pope, before he died on December 31 last year. Francis in 2014 decided to canonize his two other predecessors, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.

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