Pope Benedict XVI today received in private audience Ms. Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

"It is a great honour to express in person my gratitude to His Holiness for his invaluable support in favour of the world's hungry," said Sheeran, who has been at the helm of the world's largest humanitarian organisation since April. "I hope that the already excellent collaborative work with the Catholic Church which, like WFP, is an institution with truly global reach, can be strengthened further."

WFP works with a number of Catholic organisations, including Caritas Internationalis which, through its network of over 40 member organisations such as Catholic Relief Services, distributed 85,000 tonnes of food in 2006. WFP also has partnerships with the Jesuit Refugee Service…