President Barack Obama is wrapping up finitely detailed talks with his G-8 partners on economic and environmental challenges and turning to more photogenic events: meeting the pope and becoming the first black American president to visit a mostly black African country.

He was throwing in a televised news conference from Italy for good measure.

Obama, his wife and daughters were to meet Pope Benedict XVI shortly before leaving Italy late Friday for Ghana. The two men have spoken by phone but not met before, aides say.

In Ghana, officials expect a tumultuous reception for Obama, whose father was from Kenya. Because the first family arrives rather late Friday night, the main ceremony in Accra will occur Saturday, before he departs for Washington after a weeklong trip that started in Russia.

It will involve drumming groups and Ghanians "putting their best foot forward in terms of the cultural richness of an incredibly diverse country," White House adviser Michelle Gavin told reporters Thursday. To help accommodate the many who cannot attend, U.S. and Ghanian officials have scheduled "watch parties," radio broadcasts and video coverage in theaters, parks and other places.

"I do not believe that there is a way in which we could ever fulfill or assuage the desires of those in Ghana or on the continent on one stop," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

But first, Obama had some final business at the Group of Eight nations meeting in central Italy, where he has had mixed success in seeking accords on greenhouse gas emissions and other matters. He was to meet with several African leaders early Friday, then hold a news conference.

Ahead of Obama's meeting with reporters, world leaders committed themselves to a $15 billion initiative to help farmers in poor countries boost production.

According to a draft statement obtained by The Associated Press, the money will be distributed over three years. Not all of it is new funding, though, and several countries are already well behind in aid pledges to Africa made four years ago.

The initiative, which would significantly change the global approach to hunger, was launched near the end of three days of G-8 talks. The draft statement is to be endorsed by another 19 nations, including African countries, which are attending the meeting.

Later Friday, Obama had an audience scheduled with the pope, whose generally conservative views will not entirely mesh with Obama's. They are likely to discuss world poverty, the Middle East and other topics, aides say, but the visit will be largely personal and spiritual.

"There are issues on which they'll agree, issues on which they'll disagree and issues on which they'll agree to continue to work on going forward," deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough told reporters Thursday.

"Given the influence of the Catholic Church globally," he said, and "the influence of the Catholic Church and church social teaching on the president himself, he recognizes that this is much more than your typical state visit."

Obama is a Protestant seeking a new church in Washington.

He will become the third straight U.S. president to visit Ghana, a relatively stable democracy in a continent wracked by poverty and heavy-handed governments. But he is the first such president of African descent.

Obama chose Ghana, Gavin said, "because it's such an admirable example of strong, democratic governance, vibrant civil society." There's much to admire, she said, and to hold up as "a counter to what one often hears about Africa."

On Saturday, Obama will meet with Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, and address the nation's parliament.

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Pope Benedict XVI and President Barack Obama will meet on July 10, a much-anticipated Vatican audience with a president under attack by some American bishops for his support of abortion rights.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday the Vatican had informed the White House that Benedict is available to meet the president that afternoon.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed the meeting and told reporters in Washington that Michelle Obama would accompany the president to the Vatican audience.

The meeting will be at the end of Obama's stay in Italy for a G-8 summit meeting in the earthquake-stricken city of L'Aquila and just before he leaves for Ghana.

Such meetings in the afternoon are unusual for the tradition-conscious Vatican — most are held at midday. The Vatican clearly sought to accommodate Obama's busy schedule, a sign of Benedict's interest in meeting the American president.

The Vatican has been openly interested in Obama's views, despite his support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, although some American Catholic bishops have been hostile to his administration.

Benedict broke Vatican protocol the day after Obama was elected, sending a personal note of congratulations rather than waiting to send an official telegram on inauguration day.

L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily newspaper, gave Obama a positive review after his first 100 days in office, saying in a front-page editorial than even on ethical questions Obama hadn't confirmed the "radical" direction he discussed during the campaign.

Tensions grew when Obama was invited to receive an honorary degree at the leading U.S. Catholic university, Notre Dame. Dozens of U.S. bishops denounced the university and the local bishop boycotted the ceremony.

Yet L'Osservatore concluded that Obama was looking for some common ground with his speech, noting he asked Americans to work together to reduce the number of abortions.

Some conservative American Catholics have criticized the Vatican newspaper for its accommodating stance, and some American prelates at the Vatican have been openly critical of Obama.

Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, said the U.S. Democratic Party risks becoming a "party of death."

In an interview with an Italian Catholic newspaper, Burke was quoted as criticizing the party for its stands on bioethical issues, especially in defense of abortion rights.

Benedict had a warm relationship with Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, an abortion opponent, although the Vatican was opposed to the Iraq war.

Polls have shown that Obama received a majority of Catholic votes, especially from the growing number of Hispanic Catholics.

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