At a ceremony in Sofia, the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte received as a gift from Pope Francis fragments of the relics of St. Clement, the first bishop of ancient Serdica and Pope and St. Potitus – an early Christian martyr, born in Serdica.

At the ceremony the Apostolic Nuncio to Bulgaria Anselmo Guido Pecorari pointed out that the relics are returned to the lands where the two saints lived and followed the missionary work of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, and the precious gift is a sign of the Pope's desire to seek and pray for unity of Christians and for mutual respect that characterizes the relationship between the Holy See and the Bulgarian Patriarchy. In his speech of gratitude, Patriarch Neophyte said that the donated fragments of the relics of St. Clement are "a spiritual bridge between the Bulgarian Church and the Roman Church that has warmed the hearts of the Bulgarian and Italian peoples for centuries." The donated relics will be stored in the ancient church of St. Sofia.