Pope Francis meets Israeli President Shimon Peres (left) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) for a group prayer session and private peace talks in the Vatican Gardens on June 8, 2014. The three leaders were joined by the Orthodox Christian leader Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I (second right). Francis proposed the meeting last month during his visit to Israel and the West Bank. Photo by Eric Vandeville/ABACAPRESS.COM