First, when I crossed his eyes, I had a clear sensation of being in front of a person that belongs to another dimension; it is not about religion or church, it is about spiri- tual energy. A person that was there to listen with his open heart, distant from any human concern. A person with an infinite interior serenity. In the same and opposite way, I also saw a person loading on his shoul- ders an immense weight, the weight of humankind, with a huge suffer- ance for this. project was the “gift to the Pope” and consisted of a check to the sum of 10,000 Euro to assist a mission- ary in Angola, where a humanitar- ian project is run. 63rd Anniversary Meeting The 63rd Anniversary Meeting of Section V took place in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20-24, 2018. The President of Section V Chris- tian Robin and his local organizing committee put up a wonderful meet- ing. Guests of honour were the ICD International President Clive Ross and his lovely wife Wendy. The meeting opened with the Welcome Reception and Dinner at the Cite Du Temps. The Scientific Day was held on Friday at the Centre Medical Uni- versitaire. The Scientific Program, put together by President Robin and Scientific Chair Aris Petros Tripodakis, featured lectures from prominent Swiss professors. The Open Forum chaired by Gil Alco- forado focused on the projects the European Section financially supports, like the Indian Project headed by Fellow Vicente Lozano, the San Tome and Principe project headed by Fellow Dr. Miguel Pavao and his NGO Mundo a Sorrir, the Cape Verde project headed by Fel- low Sussane Scherrer, and the Cal- cutta Project headed by Fellow Luis Jane. All Fellows enjoyed a typical Swiss dinner and music at the Cha- teau des Bois. The Induction Cer- emony, where 44 new Fellows were inducted, was held at the famous 2019 Officers President: Argirios Pissiotis President Elect: Gil Alves Alcoforado Vice President: Walter J. van Driel Past President: Christian Robin Registrar: Mauro Labanca Treasurer: Maren de Wit Editor: Nairn Wilson Contact Information ICD Section V Europe Dr. Mauro Labanca Corso Magenta, 32 20123 Milano, Italy Tel: +3902804246 Fax: +30 2310 239 980 mauro@maurolabanca.com Section V Europe website ICDigest 2018 Maison de la Paix. The Induction Ceremony ended with the change of Officers. The Induction Ceremo- ny was followed by aperitifs at the Maison de la Paix and pictures to commemorate the event, and the Gala Dinner, which was held at the conference Hotel President Wilson, followed by dancing with live mu- sic, a perfect finish for yet another wonderful meeting of the European Section. On Meeting the Pope During the Italian District meeting, with the presence of a huge number of officers of the European board, I’ve arranged for the invitation to the general audience of the pope, as special guests. The official reason was to present to the pope the book of the ICD Centennial together with a symbolic gift of a check given to a very important initiative suggested by the Chair of the European Sec- tion Projects and Funding Commit- tee, Gil Alcoforado. The ICD group, 75 persons, was hosted on the churchyard 20 me- ters from his holiness. This is a quite a unique privilege because that space is usually reserved for small groups. Moreover, Dov Sydney, Editor and Director of Communications of the College, and I had the privi- lege to get the tickets for the “ba- ciamano” ceremony to have min- utes to talk to the pope and receive from his hands his rosary, the one reserved to the people that have a personal encounter with him. POPE FRANCIS embraces Dr. La- banca during the ICD Papal visit to the Vatican on Sept. 27, 2018. THE GLOBE 2019 SECTION REPORTS 3 5