Pope speaks of his 'emotional' meeting with refugee family

Pope speaks of his 'emotional' meeting with refugee family

(Vatican Radio) During his flight from Rome to Cuba, Pope Francis spoke about his meeting with a refugee family being housed by the Vatican's Sant'Anna parish. The Holy Father met with the family of Melkite Greek-Catholics from Damascus on Saturday before heading to the airport for his flight to Cuba. He described the encounter as an "emotional" meeting.

"There are wars, refugees who are escaping in this wave of migration away from wars...they are fleeing from death and seeking life," Pope Francis told reporters on the plane. "You could see the pain of all of this in their faces," he said.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis called on every parish and religious community in Europe to take in a family of refugees. He also said the two parishes inside the Vatican - Sant'Anna and St. Peter's Basilica - would each host a family.

"I think that today the world is thirsting for peace," he said, before calling on those on the plane to build bridges to peace. "A small bridge, then another, then another make a great bridge for peace," Pope Francis said.

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