ROME, July 9, 2018 (MENA) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella received Monday Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese at the presidential palace headquarters in Rome. Spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church Boulos Halim said the meeting between Pope Tawadros II and the Italian president comes within the framework of the pope's visit to Italy to participate in prayers day for peace in the Middle East, in addition to other church leaders at the invitation of Pope Francis. Halim pointed out that Pope Tawadros II had met on Sunday with Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, in the presence of Egypt's Ambassador in Rome Hisham Badr.