The following is the intervention by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin this morning at the Inaugural Session of the 40th General Conference of the FAO:

Mr. President,
Director General of the FAO,
Prime Minister of the Italian Republic,
Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen!

Thank you for your welcome and for your words of greeting. I have the pleasure of reading His Holiness Pope Francis’ Message to the Conference:

[Reading of the Message of the Holy Father]

To conclude this intervention, I would like to announce officially that on the upcoming 16 October, on the occasion of World Food Day, which this year will reflect on the theme, “Change the future of migration”, Pope Francis will attend the FAO, accepting the invitation offered by the Director General, Professor José Graziano da Silva.