Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met with Pope Francis at the Vatican during a ministry tour in South America, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The encounter continues a pattern of high-level meetings between Latter-day Saint apostles and Catholic leadership.

Previous meetings between LDS leaders and popes have focused on shared humanitarian interests and religious freedom concerns. The Church and the Vatican have maintained cordial relations in recent decades despite theological differences.