Pope Meets With Search and Rescue Dogs in St Peter's Square

— -- Pope Francis met with marine search and rescue dogs and their trainers in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City today.

The dogs are from the Onlus rescue dogs lifeguard school in Bari, the capital of the Southern Italian region of Apulia. The pope met with them during his weekly general audience.

Photos show Pope Francis smiling as he greets the dogs, which included a chocolate Labrador retriever and golden retriever, among others.

Pope Francis through the years

Pope Francis through the years

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Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec. 17, 1936. He is well known for his devotion to the poor and his progressive views. Bergoglio joined the Society of Jesus in 1958. He was named the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001. In 2013 he was elected pope, becoming the first Jesuit pope in nearly 500 years.

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The trainers presented the pope with a red T-shirt from the lifeguard school.

A photo was posted to Pope Francis' Instagram account showing him with four of the pooches from the rescue center.

"In nature, in plants and in animals, we recognize the imprint of the Creator," the pic was captioned.

In late 2014, the pope declared that dogs can go to heaven during his weekly general audience.

"One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ," Pope Francis said to comfort a boy whose dog had died. "Paradise is open to all of God's creatures."