WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran Meets Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI today received in private audience
Ms. Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP).



"It is a great honour to express in person my gratitude to His Holiness
for
his invaluable support in favour of the world's hungry," said Sheeran, who
has been at the helm of the world's largest humanitarian organisation
since
April. "I hope that the already excellent collaborative work with the
Catholic Church which, like WFP, is an institution with truly global
reach,
can be strengthened further."



WFP works with a number of Catholic organisations, including Caritas
Internationalis which, through its network of over 40 member organisations
such as Catholic Relief Services, distributed 85,000 tonnes of food in
2006. WFP also has partnerships with the Jesuit Refugee Service in six
countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in Colombia, the Community of St.
Egidio, and with many other Catholic-inspired NGOs, including the German
Malteser Hilfsdienst, which works with WFP in Sudan and Myanmar.



"In crisis and conflict areas around the world - like in Darfur, Somalia,
Chad, the Occupied Palestinian territories - WFP staff often work in
dramatic situations where their own safety may be at risk, to help those
who are most vulnerable. The moral authority of the Holy Father and his
appeals for peace, justice and security are highly encouraging for us. We
know we can always count on the partnership and precious help of Catholics
and Catholic organisations," said Sheeran.



During the war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006, the Vatican donated two
ambulances to the Lebanese chapter of Caritas. The vehicles were sent to
Beirut through the WFP-managed humanitarian response depot (UNHRD) in
Brindisi.



Today's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI was also an opportunity for Sheeran
to thank the Holy Father for mentioning, during his pastoral visit to
Brazil, the WFP and the "Walk the World" march against hunger on 13 May.
This event is organised every year by WFP, TNT and other private partners
to build global commitment to fulfilling the first Millennium Development
Goal. This is the second year in a row that the Pope has referred to the
event.



During the audience, the Executive Director invited His Holiness to visit
WFP's headquarters in Rome.



After the meeting, Sheeran met with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the
Holy
See's Secretary for Relations with States.



WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: on average, each year, we
give food to 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional needs,
including 58 million hungry children, in 80 of the world's poorest
countries. WFP - We Feed People.


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