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Pope to meet G8 spouses on Wednesday
The spouses of world leaders taking part in this week's Group of Eight summit in Italy will have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, the papal spokesman said on Monday.
The spouses of world leaders taking part in this week's Group of Eight summit in Italy will have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, the papal spokesman said on Monday.
"The spouses of the heads of state and government will be received by the pope after the (Wednesday) general audience in an adjoining hall," Federico Lombardi told AFP.
He did not say which of the first spouses would take part in the meeting. US First Lady Michelle Obama was not expected to be among them because she and US President Barack Obama have an audience with the pope scheduled on Friday.
In addition to the leaders of the G8, which includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, another three dozen leaders will attend the talks.
The three-day summit starting on Wednesday will be held in the earthquake-hit city of L'Aquila, capital of the central Abruzzo region.
