Pope Benedict XVI has met Russian children from Beslan, who are on holiday in Italy. The pupils' trip to Italy is part of an international solidarity programme.
Around 50 people from the town in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania, including the children's parents, were present at the audience with the Pope in the Vatican. On September 1, 2004, more than 1,200 people were taken hostage by terrorists in Beslan's school number one. 334 people, including 186 children, were killed in the siege.