When will Luis Abinader meet with Pope Leo XIV during his European tour?

The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, will begin an official tour of Rome, Prague, and Vatican City. The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, will travel to Rome this Saturday to carry out an official agenda that will include a State visit to the Vatican, an audience with Pope Leo XIV, and his participation in the FAO's 2026 World Food Forum, where the country will be recognized for achieving the Zero Hunger goal. The Presidency of the Dominican Republic reported that the head of state will also travel to Prague, Czech Republic, and will hold meetings with Italian authorities and business representatives. The FAO recognition will be presented on Friday, October 16, during the closing of the forum, for Dominican progress against hunger and for keeping the prevalence of undernourishment below 2.5%. That day will also include a tribute to composer Juan Luis Guerra for "Ojalá que llueva café en el campo" and a performance by Maridalia Hernández. The formal agenda will begin on Monday, October 12, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome. Abinader will meet with Máximo Torero, chief economist of the FAO, and senior officials of the organization before holding a meeting with its director-general, Qu Dongyu. The president will also take part in a luncheon hosted by the director-general and will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural ceremony of the 2026 World Food Forum, scheduled for the afternoon in the organization's plenary hall. During the same day, the head of state has a meeting scheduled with Carl Skau, executive director of the World Food Programme. He will also present the FAO Museum with a work by artist Juan Trinidad and will inaugurate the Dominican Republic Hall at the organization's headquarters. The FAO will present a recognition to the Dominican Republic for keeping the prevalence of undernourishment below 2.5%. The day will conclude with a welcome cocktail for the Dominican delegation, hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations agencies based in Rome. On Tuesday, October 13, Abinader will travel to Prague to attend the 30th Annual Conference of Forum 2000, which will be held at the Prague Congress Center. There he will meet with Jakub Klepal, executive director of Forum 2000. The program includes a global dialogue alongside Carl Gershman, founding president of the National Endowment for Democracy of the United States, and Benedetta Berti, secretary general of the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The agenda will continue on Wednesday, October 14, with a bilateral meeting with Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy. Afterwards, Abinader will participate in the opening of the Italy-Dominican Republic Business Forum, which will bring together government representatives and businesspeople from both countries. The head of state will also take part in a discussion with the Italian and Dominican business delegations on matters of shared interest in economic and trade relations. Also scheduled for that day are an interview with journalist Ghida Fakhry and meetings with Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, at the Quirinal Palace, and with Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister. Wednesday's program will conclude with a dinner hosted by Paolo Barelli in Abinader's honor. The State visit to the Vatican will take place on Thursday, October 15. Abinader will have an audience with Pope Leo XIV and will meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. The Dominican head of state will hold an audience with Pope Leo XIV and a meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the Vatican. That day, the president will also hold meetings with Italian companies as part of his contacts with the private sector. On Friday, before returning to the FAO, Abinader will meet with Giorgio Silli, secretary general of the Italo-Latin American Organization, at that organization's headquarters. He will also participate in an extraordinary session of the Council of Delegates, made up of Latin American ambassadors accredited to Italy. During the visit, the president will be accompanied by the Dominican ambassadors to Italy, Rafael Lantigua; to the Holy See, Víctor Suárez; and to the FAO, Ada Hernández, along with the Director of State Ceremonial and Protocol, Ambassador Francisco José Cantizano Nadal. The return from Rome to the Dominican Republic is scheduled for Friday, October 16.