Vatican City, Apr 8, 2016 / 12:25 pm (CNA).- Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has announced that he will attend a Vatican conference on social justice and the economy just before the New York primary election on April 19.

“I was very moved by the invitation from the Vatican which was just made public today,” Sanders said April 8 during an interview on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

The invitation was extended on behalf of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.