Pope Benedict receives Ingrid Betancourt

A joyful meeting:

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt met with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday to thank him for his prayers during her captivity, the Vatican said.

Betancourt, who was released July 2, had expressed a desire to meet the pontiff. The former presidential candidate in Colombia credited her religious faith with helping her survive more than six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle at the hands of leftist rebels known as FARC.

Betancourt said meeting the pope was "a dream come true."

She told Benedict of how she found comfort, during the worst days of her captivity, in her Catholic faith and in the knowledge that millions in Europe and across the world were calling for her release as well as that of her fellow prisoners. (AP)