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The pope addressed more than 2,500 priests, deacons, religious sisters, seminarians, catechists, and bishops gathered inside the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels.
During a visit to the Catholic king’s tomb on Saturday in Belgium, Pope Francis lauded Belgian King Baudouin for choosing to temporarily abdicate the throne rather than sign abortion law.
The pope celebrated the youthfulness of East Timor at the outdoor Mass where the crowd appeared like a sea of yellow-and-white Vatican-themed umbrellas.
Francis is the first pope to visit East Timor since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, becoming the first new sovereign state of the 21st century.
Upon entering the stadium in a wheelchair, Pope Francis was immediately greeted by loud cheers and cries of “Viva Papa!” from a 60,000-strong crowd.
Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea for the first time in May 1984 and paid tribute to the strength of Catholicism on the island.
The pope will greet royal leaders, prime ministers, professors and students, and Catholics in some of the countries’ historic palaces, cathedrals, and universities.
According to Italian press, less than 24 hours after the pope’s arrival, the police discovered a Czech-made semiautomatic pistol inside a suitcase.
The pope’s one-day visit to the northern Italian city of Verona on Saturday centered on a message of peace, urging people not to "become spectators of the so-called `inevitable' war.’”
The Indonesian government has confirmed the country will be the first destination in the 87-year-old pontiff’s apostolic journey to the Asia Pacific region Sept. 2–13.
Despite advanced age and health challenges, the pope visited six countries on three continents in 2023.
Pope Francis said in a TV interview he will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the second time from Dec. 1–3.
“We can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks, caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” the pope said Sept. 22.
Mongolia is one of the world’s largest landlocked nations, sandwiched between its much larger and more powerful neighbors, China and Russia. It has one of the smallest Christian communities in the world — a community nevertheless galvanized by Pope Francis’ upcoming trip, which is scheduled to take place Aug. 31–Sept. 4.
Pope Francis’ next international trip will bring him to Mongolia, a democracy sandwiched between the authoritarian powers of Russia and China.
The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis will visit Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country.
Pope Francis said Friday that he plans to visit Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country.
Pope Francis will travel to Budapest, Hungary, in just over a month for an April 28–30 visit to the capital of the central European country.
The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis will visit Hungary for the second time, from April 28-30.
In a moving encounter with Pope Francis, children from eastern Congo laid down the machetes and knives used to kill their families at the foot of Christ’s cross to symbolize their forgiveness.