Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Kurtz has had a one-on-one meeting with the Pope and discussed the pastoral concerns of the Island's Catholic Church.

Bishop Kurtz travelled to Rome to meet Pope Benedict XVI as part of the visit by the Antilles Episcopal Conference of Bishops scheduled every five years.

In the Pope's personal office at the Vatican, Bishop Kurtz outlined the pastoral activities of the Catholic Church in Bermuda and discussed the challenge of sharing the faith, especially with young people.

The bishop has met with Pope Benedict on other occasions, most recently in Aparecida, Brazil, in May 2007.

He said in a statement: "This time was special in that it was a personal meeting in the Pope's library office and it offered me the opportunity to share with him the pastoral concerns of the Catholic Church in Bermuda.

"I found the meeting to be encouraging and uplifting. The Holy Father is a good listener, a wise pastor and certainly a learned and holy man."

The Antilles Episcopal Conference comprises the Roman Catholic Hierarchy of the Catholic Dioceses of the Dutch and English speaking Caribbean (CARICOM) and the French speaking territories except Haiti.