"The nation you are about to visit, in its millennial history, has made an essential contribution to Europe and the world for the affirmation of individual rights and freedoms, along with those universal ideals that are the foundation of our democracies. The very motto of your journey, 'So that the world may have life,' encourages unity and cohesion, evokes a positive commitment directed towards the search for the common good and the service of the human person": this is written by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, to Pope Leo XIV, thanking him "sincerely for the message he wished to send me at the departure of the apostolic mission in France and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)." (translated)