Pope Francis has been presented with the International
Charlemagne Prize, one of Europe’s most prestigious prizes, for his
“message of hope and encouragement.”
The Pope held a
private audience in the morning with European Parliament President
Martin Schulz, a former Charlemagne Prize recipient, E.U. Commission
President Jean-Claude Junker and E.U. Council President Donald Tusk,
ahead of the midday ceremony. He also met with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel.
The Charlemagne prize is awarded annually by the German
city of Aachen for contributions to European unity since 1950
Previous winners
include former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 and St John Paul II, who
received a special edition of the prize in 2004.
The Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne once ruled a large swath of Western Europe from Aachen, near the Belgian border.
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