Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza has met with Pope Francis in Rome, Italy.

In a Facebook post, Dureza said that he had asked the 80-year-old pontiff to bless the Philippines.

"I will also bless your President," he qouted the Pope as saying in response.

In a text message to reporters, Dureza said that Duterte's letter to the Pope was handed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.

Duterte during the presidential campaign threw an expletive the Pope's way while discussing the traffic congestion the papal visit caused in January 2015.

He has since explained that the cuss words were actually directed at the traffic problem in Manila and not at Pope Francis. —NB, GMA News