VATICAN CITY, Vatican.- Pope Francis received in private audience of almost an hour French President Emmanuel Macron, and gave him the medallion of San Martín de Tours, known for his help to the poor.

In giving the president the image of St. Martin de Tours, the Pope said it is a medal made by a Roman artist of the past century, in which he represents the saint and wants to underline the vocation of the rulers to help the poor.

For his part, the French President gave to Bergoglio a historical edition of Diary of a Rural Priest, by Georges Bernaus, which Francis said he had read many times and did him good.

During his stay in Rome, Macron will not meet with representatives of the Italian Government, and in his conversation the main subjects were migration, humanitarian aid, climate change and secularism.