PICTURE KING TRADING CO., LTD - Hong Kong

"I was thrilled to be there. It was a deep spiritual experience, " King told The Associated Press after the two-hour open-air audience in St. Peter's Square. In Rome to discuss possible boxing matches in Italy, King had expressed his wish to meet with the pope. "Faith is the thing that carries us through, " the 75-year-old King said as he walked through St. Peter's Square, waving Italian and Vatican flags and signing autographs. Don King Productions spokesman Alan Hopper said the Vatican visit was arranged through a boxer King represents--Italian super welterweight champion Luca Messi, whose brother Alessandro is a Catholic priest.