Patriarch Daniel welcomed Switzerland’s new ambassador to Romania Arthur Mattli at his patriarchal residence in Bucharest on February 5, 2020.
Patriarch Daniel expressed his joy to meet Mr Arthur Mattli officially. He thanked him for visiting the St Nectarios Palliative Care Centre of the Archdiocese of Bucharest on January 15, 2020.
In response, the ambassador thanked for the honour of being received by the Patriarch of Romania, and expressed his special appreciation regarding the functioning of this social-medical Centre of the Romanian Orthodox Church, admiring the quality of the services available for the patients treated there.
Switzerland’s ambassador recalled that the Swiss Embassy contributed to the establishment of this Center eight years ago and advanced the idea of the necessity of setting up a Training Centre for the future staff working in the field of palliative care in Romania.
In this context, the ambassador mentioned several social projects carried out by the Swiss Embassy in Romania.
Referring to the Solemn Year of the pastoral ministry to parents and children, and the Commemorative Year of the Romanian Orthodox philanthropists (2020), His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel stressed the essential role of the Christian family and Christian education in society, the importance of promoting a culture of generosity, as well as the need to get involved in preventing and combating school dropout.
In this regard, the Primate of Romania mentioned that over 35,000 children benefited from the program Choose School!, carried out by the Romanian Patriarchate in partnership with the World Vision Romania Foundation.
In the same context, the Patriarch presented the extensive social-philanthropic activity carried out in the Romanian Patriarchate through the nearly 800 institutions, programs and projects in the last 12 years.
In closing, Ambassador Arthur Mattli thanked Patriarch Daniel for the warm welcome and the open dialogue towards an excellent collaboration.
Source: Basilica.ro
