Pope Francis makes rare trip to Europe

On September 26, Pope Francis began a short visit to Luxembourg, one of Europe's smallest countries, before heading to Belgium.

Pope Francis will visit Luxembourg and Belgium for 4 days from September 26-29. (Source: Vatican)

According to Vatican News , on September 26, the Pope will meet privately with the King, Grand Duke Henri and Prime Minister Luc Frieden of Luxembourg before giving a speech to the country's political leaders.

The Pope also met with local Catholics at Luxembourg City's Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Pope will travel to Brussels that evening and meet King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of the host country on the morning of September 27, after which he will give a speech.

Pope Francis will call on the European Union (EU) to return to its founding values, according to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, stressing that the Holy See hopes to help facilitate the link between the past and the future as the EU faces multiple crises, including the Ukraine conflict.

“If Europe is to be a heard and authoritative voice in today’s world and overcome its tired deadlocks, it needs to rediscover the greatness of the values that inspired it,” he said.

The September 26-29 trip to Luxembourg and Belgium is a rare visit to Europe for Pope Francis, who has a desire to go to places no other pope has visited, or where Catholics are a minority.

The trip comes less than two weeks after the Pope returned from a 12-day tour of four Southeast Asian and Oceanian countries.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/giao-hoang-francis-thuc-hien-chuyen-cong-du-hiem-hoi-toi-chau-au-287767.html