Kirk’s Moderator gifts Pope Francis Scottish artwork to display in Vatican

Pope Francis was “very taken” by Scottish artwork gifted by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton met with the Pope at the Apostolic Palace, his official residence in Vatican City.

She gifted a print of Throwaway People by modern-day folk artist Michael McVeigh. His paintings depict everyday life in Scotland, with the particular artwork expressing the plight of those on the margins of society.

In gifting the print, the Moderator said the Pope was “very, very taken by it” and wanted Mr McVeigh to receive a gift as a thanks.

Rev Foster-Fulton, who was appointed Moderator in May, said: “It was an extraordinary morning with Pope Francis and we talked about a great many important things.

“One of the gifts that I gave to him is a print by the artist Michael McVeigh, who sells his work on the corner of Rose Street in Edinburgh and has had an exhibition at the Scottish Gallery.

“It is called the Throwaway People and it is his expression of the fragility of life and how easy it is to fall through the cracks.

“It is a print that I have remembered forever and I said to Pope Francis, who has dedicated his life to try and make sure that does not happen, that I wanted him to have that picture.

“He took it and turned it over and wrote something on the back in Italian so he would remember and was very, very taken by it.

“He asked me to give one of his gifts to Michael McVeigh and say thank you from him and I think that is pretty cool.”

The Moderator also discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, and well as the war in Ukraine.

She said: “We talked how we both recognise ourselves in what is happening to the ordinary people there and how we need to recognise our common humanity more openly.”