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Benedict's 'Happy Birthday' to Pope Francis: A Message, 3 Gifts

Pope Emeritus Personally Calls His Successor

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On a day full of messages, emails and tweets, the greetings of Benedict XVI to his successor Pope Francis for his 80th birthday couldn’t be lacking.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Saturday, the Pope Emeritus sent a very affectionate, written message that was particularly appreciated by the Argentine Pope.
Then, in the afternoon, Benedict called Francis personally.
Moreover, the press office noted, the Emeritus Pontiff sent Pope Francis three small gifts that were received as «three very personal and significant signs for both of them.»
The Vatican did not specify what these gifts were.

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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