President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca will be calling on Pope Francis in September.

She told RTK radio yesterday she would be at the Vatican on September 29.

The head of State’s first visit abroad is usually to the Pope and it was initially planned that Ms Coleiro Preca would visit Rome by the end of June. However, the meeting had to be postponed because of the Pope’s busy schedule and he had to cancel some official visits, citing ailment.

The President missed the canonisation of two popes on April 27 because of the launch of a series of meetings on immigration at San Anton Palace.

Her office said she had to cancel her trip to Rome as she had scheduled meetings with a “high-level” delegation from the UNHCR and the International Organisation of Migration. President Emeritus George Abela visited the Pontiff in March, just before the end of his five-year term.

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