Details of Pope Francis' visit to Georgia and
Azerbaijan
(Vatican Radio) At a briefing
for journalists at the Holy See press office on Monday, Vatican spokesman Greg
Burke gave details of Pope Francis’ forthcoming three day visit to the
republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan. It’ll be his 16th pastoral visit outside
Italy and it’ll be focused on the themes of peace and brotherhood, following on
from the message of peace that he took with him to the neighbouring republic of
Armenia last June.
The Pope is scheduled to
leave the Vatican on Friday morning, headed for the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
His first encounter there will be with the president, with government
authorities and representatives of civil society gathered at the imposing
presidential palace. From there he goes on to meet the country’s Orthodox
leader Patriarch Elia, who was also on hand for Pope John Paul II’s visit to
the newly independent nation back in 1999.
The final event on Friday
will be a visit to the Syro-Chaldean church of St Simon the Tanner, one of
three different rites making up the small Catholic community in the former
Soviet nation. The pope will join Syro-Chaldean bishops from around the world
there to pray for peace in Syria and Iraq.
Pope Francis begins the
following day with Mass at a stadium in Tbilisi named after one of Georgia’s
most famous footballers. Significantly, a delegation from the Orthodox
Patriarchate will also be present at the Mass, a sign of growing friendship
despite the many doctrinal difficulties that continue to divide leaders of the
two Churches.
In the afternoon, the Pope
will meet with priests, religious and seminarians at one of the two Catholic
parishes in the capital, before greeting several hundred disabled and
vulnerable people being cared for by members of the Camilian order. The
Pope’s final event in Georgia will be a visit to the patriarchal cathedral in
the nearby ancient city of Mtshketa, listed as one of UNESCO’s world heritage
sites.
On the final day of the trip,
Pope Francis flies from Tbilisi to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan where he’ll
celebrate Mass for the tiny Catholic community at the only parish church run by
the Salesian order. In the afternoon he’ll make a courtesy visit to the
president and meet the region’s Muslim leader, Sheik Allashukur
Pashazade, before taking part in an interfaith encounter with representatives
of all the other religious communities in the country.
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