Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva The former president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, thanked Pope Francis for his solidarity last Wednesday, after his prison sentences were annulled.
Mr Lula was serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering.
“I want to thank Pope Francis (@Pontifex_pt) that when I was in prison he made a point of sending me a letter. And for having me at the Vatican as soon as I left prison for a conversation about combating hunger and inequality,” the former Brazilian president wrote on Twitter March 10.
The BBC reported March 8 that Federal Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin nullified all the convictions handed down against Mr Lula by the federal court in Paraná state, which was part of the anti-corruption investigation Operation Car Wash.
According to Infobae, Mr Lula served 580 days in prison.
Pope Francis wrote a letter to Mr Lula in May 2019, in response to a letter from the former president. In the letter, the Holy Father explained the importance of understanding politics as a form of charity and encouraged the former president in the face of the “difficult trials” he had experienced, such as the death of his wife Marisa Leticia, his brother Genival Inácio, and his seven-year-old grandson Arthur.