Pope
Francis to travel to Latin America
(Vatican
Radio) For the second time since his election on 13 March 2013, Pope Francis is
returning to the continent of his birth – Latin America – on a journey which
will see him interact and communicate in his own language - Spanish.
The
journey to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, which is scheduled to last from 5 to
13 July, was presented on Tuesday morning at the Vatican Press Office by its
Director, Father Federico Lombardi SJ.
The
underlying theme of the journey to all three counties, ravaged by conquest,
exploitation and conflict in years not so long gone by is that of
reconciliation and renewal.
Pointing
out that this is the first time Pope Francis will visit three different nations
during a single journey, Fr Lombardi also noted that just as he did in Europe
by choosing Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina as the first nations to reach
out to at the beginning of his pontificate, here too he is starting with the
“peripheries” as far as the Latin American and global scenarios are concerned.
It
will also be the first journey – Lombardi observed - in which Spanish – the
Pope’s mother-tongue – is spoken throughout, giving him plenty of occasions to
set aside prepared texts (including 22 official discourses) and to talk and
converse freely with his audiences.
Lombardi
also said that in just seven days Pope Francis will be experiencing enormous
changes in temperature and in altitude: from 3° to 40° Centigrade, from
sea level to over 4,100 meters above sea level as he travels from the Atlantic
to the Andes and in between.
A
swift glance at the Pope’s schedule highlights the fact that the journey will
be intense for other reasons as well!
All
in all, Pope Francis is to spend 48 hours in each country, and each time he
will be involved in a number of “common” events such as an audience with each
President; a “sit-down” with the bishops, an encounter with civil society (representatives
of business, indigenous people, the world of education, culture); a meeting
with consecrated people.
Of
course in each country he will also be involved in other events and situations
as he is scheduled to visit a home for the aged run by the Sisters of Mother
Teresa in Ecuador, a prison (one of the largest in Latin America) and a meeting
with members of the World Meeting of Popular Movements in Bolivia; a children’s
hospital and a slum area in Paraguay.
Another
important feature of the journey will be a Marian one as Pope Francis will
gather in prayer before the “Virgen Dolorosa” in Quito and before Our Lady of
Caacupé 40 km from Asuncion.
One
important characteristic of the whole journey – Father Lombardi pointed out -
has to do with the wealth of traditions, cultures and languages that are
present on the territory. The Pope’s respect for the diversity and value of
each of these is also reflected in all of the liturgies and celebrations.
Lombardi
recalled that Pope Saint John Paul II travelled to all three nations: Ecuador
in 1985, Bolivia and Paraguay in 1988 where he had a memorable meeting with
minors, canonized Rocco Gonzales and was witness to the last days of General
Alfredo Stroessner’s cruel dictatorship.
Father
Lombardi concluded a detailed account of the Pope’s day-to-day schedule,
pointing out that this journey is Francis’ “homecoming” in the sense that it is
the first time he will be back in his own continent since travelling to Rome
for the conclave in 2013, and that he will finally be speaking his own
language. “All this – he said – should make for a particularly intense occasion
for communication”.
(Linda Bordoni)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét