The Vice President of Argentina, Daniel Scioli, who met briefly on Wednesday with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square, revealed that the Pontiff told him, “Argentina is the hope of the future” and that he prays constantly for the country.

“Argentina is the hope of the future.  I pray always for this country,” Scioli quoted the Pope as saying when the two exchanged greetings before the Wednesday Audience.

Scioli was accompanied by his wife, Carolina Rabollini, and by the Argentinean ambassador before the Holy See, Carlos Custer.