Naveen Patnaik meets Pope Francis in Vatican, presents Odisha's pattachitra

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday met Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church in Vatican City, during his visit to Rome, the first CM of an Indian state to do so. Naveen presented him a Pattachitra painting depicting the tree of life during his visit.
Though the meeting lasted a few minutes, Naveen expressed his pleasure on meeting "His Holiness" and thanked him for a warm reception.
It has been an absolute pleasure meeting His Holiness Pope Francis (@Pontifex) in Vatican City. Thanked him for the warm audience and wished him good health and a long life, tweeted Naveen.
The meeting was the most awaited one during Naveen's ongoing 10-day foreign tour, which is only his second as CM in the past 22 years. It not only grabbed international eyeballs, but also raised Naveen's political stature in the global arena and back home too.
Stating that it was an honour to meet the head of the Catholic Church, the longest serving chief minister of the state said there are millions
The chief minister also apprised Pope Francis about his government's support to the organisations run by the Missionaries of Charity, the Kolkata-based philanthropic organisation, founded by Mother Teresa that had arrived in Odisha in 1974 and has as many as 13 centres for the sick, abandoned, elderly, leprosy patients, mentally disabled and orphans in the state.
Last December, Naveen had asked the district collectors in Odisha to ensure that no inmate of these organisations suffers, especially because of food scarcity and health-related distress owing to paucity of funds when there was some delay in the renenewal of the Missionaries of Charity's FCRA licence.
"By presenting the pattachitra, a popular art form of Odisha, Naveen also tried to represent Odisha in Vatican. Pattachitra is a unique ancient traditional, cloth-based scroll painting from Odisha. This art form is known for its intricate detail, natural colours and mythological themes. It shows the unique expertise of the skilled craftsman of Odisha," read an official statement. The priests and sisters from India, who were at the Vatican City, were elated to see the CM and clicked several photos with him. They also wished him well, read the statement.