Pope Francis has acknowledged and expressed gratitude to the people of St. Lucia and Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony for a congratulatory message sent to him shortly after he was elected on March 13, 2013.

This was communicated in a correspondence to the prime minister from Secretary of State from the Holy See, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The message read, “His Holiness Pope Francis has asked me to express his thanks for the kind message which was sent to him on behalf of the government and people of Saint Lucia upon his election to the See of Peter. He appreciates the respectful sentiments that prompted this gesture. His Holiness invokes upon the nation God’s abundant blessings of joy and peace.”