Downing Street said the Queen's Speech - the seventh since Tony Blair came to power - was about "facing upto the challenges of the future, but doing so in a way that pursues social justice".
What we are facing now, today, obviously is an urgent need for the international community to help in humanitarian assistance to catch upto the challenges that we are facing as the countries bordering Syria.
As we respond to these immediate crises abroad, we also will not let up in our efforts to tackle the pressing, ongoing challengesfacing our country, including accelerating economic growth.
It was Francis' first meeting with his predecessor since his election, and both men are presumed to have discussed challengesfacing both managing the Vatican's often creaky bureaucracy and shoring up faith among Catholics worldwide.