Maputo, 04 September, 2019 / 8:50 PM
Pope Francis has started a new apostolic journey to Africa, and will visit Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius. As on other occasions he has boarded the plane carrying a black briefcase.
He never lets another person to carry it. Few years ago, he unveiled the items that he carries inside.
The first time that the image of the Pope carrying the briefcase attracted attention was during World Youth Day Rio 2013, the first trip of his pontificate.
In the flight returning to Rome from Brazil, a journalist commented that the image of the Pope carrying the briefcase had gone viral.
"There was no key to the atomic bomb," Pope Francis joked and said that he has always carried his own briefcase.
“When I travel, I take it. Inside I have the razor blade, a breviary, an agenda notebook, a book to read. I have one on Saint Therese of Lisieux, of whom I am a devotee," he said.
"I always carry the briefcase when I travel, it is normal. We must be normal. It is a bit strange that you tell me that this photo has gone around the world. We must get used to being normal. The normality of life,” the Holy Father said.
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