Our request to participate in the General Audience of November 26, 2025, was accepted. The meeting is at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City or Rome. The Lateran Pacts have been in force for some time...

The departure is at 4.00 from Rimini, sleepy and excited, there is little traffic... At 4.30 I pick up Cristian in Pesaro and then Fano, Gubbio, Orte, Rome.

The Liber Abaci accompanied us on this journey: a book that changed the history of mathematics and which we were about to personally deliver to the Pope.

During the journey we encounter all sorts of weather conditions: fog, rain, snow, while in Rome we are greeted by a timid dose of sunshine, albeit with the threat of rain, which will wet us a little during the Audience.

The journey is a mini-pilgrimage, an unseen sharp bend, corrected with a little skill and a lot of electronics liven up the journey…

We arrived in Rome early and easily parked near Via della Conciliazione, still on the subject of the Lateran Pacts, and that was already a near miracle…

St. Peter's Square is already prepared for the Audience: barriers to delimit the areas, a route for the Popemobile, and the usual metal detectors.

There is already a human tide of faith from the most disparate regions of the globe: I see the flags of the United States, Australia, Austria (they are not the same thing 😊), I see people from South America, from Asia.

The international atmosphere of the Audience made even more evident the universal value of the numbers introduced by Fibonacci in his masterpiece of 1228.

We go to collect our tickets, and I speak to a kind Swiss Guard, who after a few minutes hands us the envelope in my name with the numbered tickets for the Baciamano. These are the closest seats that allow us to speak directly with the Holy Father.

We head to our area, in front of the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica. The atmosphere is already charged with faith and positive energy, which I think even a non-Catholic can perceive.

As Cristian posts content and stories, I reflect on how this trip was a miniature pilgrimage, a small opportunity to look inside myself: something that often happens when you spend a lot of time driving.

Meanwhile, the square fills up: choirs, shouts of jubilation, prayers, songs, and invocations can be heard, then, early, the Holy Father emerges to greet and bless the faithful in the Popemobile, with which he reaches his seat in front of St. Peter's.

We listen to the readings, the Pope's homily, the greetings, and the Apostolic Blessing, which are repeated in various languages: Italian, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, French, Arabic, and Chinese. A natural reflection emerges.

There are countless languages ​​in the world, but mathematics is one. Numbers become a universal language that unites. A middle school student will study the same method for solving quadratic equations, for example, in Italy, Asia, America, or Australia.

This is one of the very powerful messages contained in our Liber Abaci: numbers as a universal message of Harmony and Universality.

The moment arrives for the meeting with the Pope. We're starting to feel tired, but the excitement is stronger.

As we approach, our heart rate increases, we climb the last few steps and approach Pope Leo XIV, who welcomes us in a friendly and affable manner.

When our turn comes, we present the facsimile of the Liber Abaci to the Holy Father, explaining its philological fidelity and the complexity of Italian artisanal production.

We emphasize that this is the complete reproduction of the 1228 manuscript, preserved at the National Central Library of Florence, one of the fundamental works in the history of mathematics and European culture.

We joke about his mathematical training and remember that there has been another Pope in history who was a mathematician.

The Pontiff listens with interest and recognizes the cultural value of the work. In a few moments, the symbolic power of the gesture is palpable: a book that revolutionized European thought, handed over to the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church.

After the traditional carbonara at a Roman tavern, we return satisfied and with hearts full of love, but lighter.

Liber Abaci has written a new chapter in its long history, and we have had the privilege of being its instruments.

It was a unique day.