BBC: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican - the first audience by the head of the Roman Catholic Church with a Saudi monarch.
The Vatican described the private meeting as "warm" and said the two men discussed the presence and hard work of Christians in Saudi Arabia.
An estimated 1.5m Christians live in Saudi Arabia but are not allowed to worship publicly.
The Vatican said Abdullah requested the audience as part of a European tour.
The two sides have no diplomatic ties, although when Abdullah was crown prince he met the late Pope John Paul II.
Correspondents say the visit comes as relations between the Vatican and the Muslim world are improving, more than a year after the crisis caused by a papal speech appearing to associate Islam with violence.
The 84-year-old Saudi monarch is on the third leg of his European tour after visiting the UK and Switzerland. He will travel next to Germany and Turkey. Historic Saudi visit to Vatican (more)
BBC VIDEO:
Saudi audience at Vatican
Mark Alexander
