Google’s Eric Schmidt Has Just 15 Minutes With the Pope This Friday
As the former Google CEO and current Alphabet executive chairman, it’s probably tough to get even a few minutes with Eric Schmidt. But this Friday, Schmidt will reportedly be the one limited to a — 15 minutes, to be exact — with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
His Holiness is on record as being a big fan of the Internet and what it can do. During his for the Vatican’s 48th annual World Communications Day in 2014, he said, “the Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.”
Related: We Are Flawed, Erring Humans. Don’t Blame Google.
While the Pope rarely meets with business leaders such as Schmidt, the Google get-together isn’t entirely out of the blue. For the last several years, there has been a technological push at the Vatican, including to launch the Pope’s YouTube channel in 2009.
Pope Francis has since hosted two at the Vatican, though during one, the 78-year-old professed.
Related: The 7 Management Lessons of Pope Francis
Additionally, in 2010, $6 million was spent on to more widely broadcast the sermons of then Pope Benedict XVI, and, @Pontifex, went live in 2012, and currently has 8.4 million followers.
Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen will also attend Friday’s meeting.
Pope Francis made this past September. While Silicon Valley wasn’t on the itinerary, he did stop in Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.
Related: 3 Infallible Principles for Personal Branding From Pope Francis
As the former Google CEO and current Alphabet executive chairman, it’s probably tough to get even a few minutes with Eric Schmidt. But this Friday, Schmidt will reportedly be the one limited to a — 15 minutes, to be exact — with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
His Holiness is on record as being a big fan of the Internet and what it can do. During his for the Vatican’s 48th annual World Communications Day in 2014, he said, “the Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.”
