Lula meets Pope Leo 14 and defends the global fight against inequality

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met this Monday (13), for the first time, with Pope Leo 14. “I told him that we need to create a broad movement of indignation against inequality”, declared Lula on social media after being received by the leader of the Catholic Church at the Vatican.

Accompanied by the first lady, Janja da Silva — as well as ministers and other authorities — the president highlighted that the conversation dealt with “religion, faith, Brazil and the immense challenges we have to face in the world”. He praised the pope for his message that “we cannot separate faith from love for the poorest.”

Lula invited the pontiff to participate in COP 30, which takes place in November, in Belém (PA). However, he reported that due to the Catholic Jubilee, Leo 14 will not be able to attend, but that a representation from the Vatican will be sent.

During the meeting, Lula also reported that the pope intends to visit Brazil, on a date to be set. “It will be very well received, with the affection, welcome and faith of the Brazilian people. I remembered that yesterday (12) we had an immense demonstration of this faith at the Círio de Nazaré and in the celebrations of the Day of Our Lady of Aparecida, patron saint of Brazil”, stated the president.

Lula also informed the pope that, in two and a half years of government, “we took Brazil off the Hunger Map for the second time. And now, we are taking this debate to the world through the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.”

According to recently released IBGE data, Brazil reduced households with severe food insecurity from 15.5% in 2022 to 3.2% in December 2024, which means removing 26.5 million people from this condition. The data reinforces the assessment that led the UN to declare, in July, the country’s exit from Mapa.

In addition to Lula and Janja, ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs), Wellington Dias (Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger) and Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture), Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PDT-MA), the president of Embrapa Silvia Massruhá and the Brazilian ambassador to the Vatican, Everton Veira, participated in the visit to the Pope.

World Food Forum

The Brazilian president is in Italy, where he arrived this Sunday (12), to participate in the World Food Forum 2025, the main annual event of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which is celebrating its 80th anniversary.

In Rome, the president will close the Second Meeting of the Council of Champions of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and inaugurate the space that will host the Alliance’s Support Mechanism, which will function as the initiative’s secretariat.

Also read: Under Lula, family income is at a record high and inequalities fall to their lowest level

Co-chaired by Brazil and Spain, the Second Meeting of the Council of Champions of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty will have, as its main themes, the advances of the Accelerated Implementation Initiative (Fast Track), which supports national plans to combat hunger and poverty in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Haiti, Rwanda and Zambia, with more than 80 expressions of interest from financial and technical partners.

As part of the initiative, the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty is supporting the development of nine national plans aimed at accelerating action against hunger, poverty and climate risks.

With agencies