Pope Francis in Sweden to mark 500th anniversary of
Reformation
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis has arrived in Sweden for a two-day apostolic journey
where, together with the heads of the Lutheran World Federation he will jointly
preside at an ecumenical prayer service in Lund cathedral, followed by a public
witness event in the nearby city of Malmö.
On
Tuesday morning, All Saints Day, the Pope will celebrate Mass in Malmö for
Sweden’s tiny Catholic community.
Highlighting
the importance of this apostolic journey to Sweden to commemorate the 500th
anniversary of the protestant Reformation, the Pope asked journalists to help
the public understand.
Greeting
media professionals travelling on board the papal plane to Malmo on Monday
morning, Pope Francis said: “This journey is important because it is an
ecclesial journey, it’s very ecclesial in the field of ecumenism.
“Your
work will be a big contribution in making sure people understand well” he said.
The
formal occasion for the Pope’s visit to Sweden is to mark the 500th anniversary
of the Reformation. The event comes as the culmination of years of theological
progress, from the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification in 1999, to the publication of a shared history of the
Reformation in the 2013 document ‘From Conflict to Communion’.
Before
travelling to the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund for the joint ecumenical prayer
service on Monday afternoon, an official welcome ceremony at Malmö International
Airport saw state and religious authorities on the tarmac to receive Pope
Francis.
As
per protocol, the Prime Minister of the host country, Sweden’s Stefan Löfven,
and the Minister of Culture and Democracy meet privately with the Pope at the
Airport.
Also
before the ecumenical service which is scheduled to begin at 2.15pm, the Pope
will pay a courtesy visit to the Swedish King and Queen, Carl XVI Gustav and
Silvia, at Lund’s Royal Palace (the Kungshuset).
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