Morocco Archbishop on hopes for
upcoming papal visit
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| Casablanca is one of the two cities Pope Francis will visit during his apostolic journey to Morocco. |
Pope Francis is scheduled to travel to Morocco at the end of
March. During his two-day visit he will engage in interreligious dialogue as
well as visit migrants, address the country’s bishops and affirm the Catholics
in their faith.
By John Waters
With Pope Francis’ visit to Morocco now only a month away,
the Archbishop of Rabat has spoken about the itinerary for the Pope’s trip as
well as his own personal hopes for the visit. Archbishop Cristobal Lopez has
been Archbishop of Rabat, the capital city, since 2018. Although born in Spain,
Archbishop Lòpez has been ministering in Morocco since 2003. There are about
50,000 Catholics in Morocco, mostly European expatriates.
A visit full of meaning
Archbishop Lopez says that the visit of Pope Francis will be
a great event for the church but also “a very demanding two day visit full of
meaningful meetings.” Pope Francis is due to visit both Rabat and Casablanca.
The itinerary for the visit includes a visit to a migrant centre, run by the
charity Caritas, and a social centre run by the Daughters of Charity. There
will also be a visit to the Mohammed VI institute, which oversees the training
and formation of Imans, to serve the local Muslim community. The Pope is also
expected to meet with King Mohamed VI as well as the country’s Bishops.
Catholic population
Although the catholic population in Morocco is small,
Archbishop Lopez says that “The Pope will come to Morocco as a universal
pastor, father of all Catholic Christians, a person of good will who wants to
meet everyone. And for everyone, he presents himself as a servant of hope. He
comes to fill us with hope, to give us strength, to recover from
discouragement, to instill enthusiasm, he comes to announce the Gospel to us.”
Security arrangements for the visit will be strict, but
Archbishop Lopez remains confident that, with patience, everyone who waits to
see the Pope will find the waiting to be worthwhile. He is particularly keen
that the Pope’s celebration of Mass in Morocco be the summit of visit, reflecting
the way in which the Eucharist is the source and summit of Catholic life.
Personal hopes
Archbishop Lopez also spoke about his personal hopes for the
visit. “For our part we must welcome him as a human being, like us, an
instrument that signals Christ to us, the voice that announces his message, the
gospel. Our concern and our desire should not be to shake hands or take a
selfie with him. Attention must be paid by listening to his words, receiving
his message, witnessed by words and gestures. ‘When a wise man signals the sun
with his finger, the idiot looks at his finger’ says a proverb. The Pope is not
the sun, he is the finger. Let us look at the sun, which is Christ and not the
finger.”
The Pope will visit Morocco from March 30-31st.
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