Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, August 27, 2023. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVILNIUS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Majority-Catholic EU member Lithuania has summoned the Vatican's top diplomat in the country after Pope Francis told Russian youths to remember they are the heirs of "the great Russian empire". The Vatican said on Tuesday Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism in the speech, in which he also extolled Russian emperors Peter the Great and Catherine II who expanded the Russian empire. The territories of Lithuania and Poland were annexed into the Russian empire in the 18th century by Catherine II. Francis' intent was "to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage", said Vatican.

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Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Peter the Great, Catherine II, Russia, Andrius Sytas, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Catholic EU, Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Russian, European Union, NATO, Catholic, Communist, Thomson Locations: Rights VILNIUS, Lithuania, St . Petersburg, Russian, Poland, Vatican, Ukraine, Soviet, Vilnius