2023-08-07 11:40:00
August 7, 2023 / 4:40 am
As is already a tradition at the beginning and end of each papal trip, the Holy Father went this morning to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome to visit the Virgin after having spent 4 days in Lisbonwhere WYD has taken place.
The Holy Father did not want to miss this appointment with the Virgin Salvation of the Roman People to thank him for his trip to the Portuguese capital, where more than a million young people of different nationalities have gathered.
Pope Francis landed in Lisbon on Wednesday, August 2. Throughout the day, He held different meetings with the authorities and religious of the country.
On Thursday, August 3, he met with university students and in the afternoon he presided over the welcome ceremony in Eduardo VII Park, where he called on young people to find Jesus, in a speech that —due to its energy, depth, and closeness— marked a milestone. who recalled his historic participation in Rio 2013.
On Friday, August 4, he confessed to 3 young people in the so-called “City of Joy”. One of them, the Spanish Francisco Valverde, told ACI Prensa his impressions of what he considers “the confession of his life.”
That same afternoon, the Holy Father also participated in the Stations of the Cross with the young people, where several moving testimonies marked the event. Among them, a girl who told how she found God after having an abortion.
On the morning of Saturday, August 5, Pope Francis flew by helicopter to the Sanctuary of Fatima to pray the Holy Rosary with the sick and disabled. In the afternoon, he went to Parque Tejo where a million and a half young people were waiting for him for the Vigil.
On Sunday, August 6, he closed the meeting with a Holy Mass, where he announced the destination of the next WYD. In the afternoon, before returning to Rome, held a meeting with young volunteersfrom where he encouraged to be “love surfers” in the “waves of life”.
The Basilica of Santa María la Mayor has a special meaning for Pope Francis, since it is the place he visited the morning after he was elected Pontiff, on March 14, 2013, to entrust his Petrine ministry to the Mother of God, before the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani, protector of the Roman people.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú is a Spanish journalist, correspondent for ACI Prensa in Rome and the Vatican, with four years of experience in religious information.
#Pope #Francis #Virgin #Santa #María #Mayor #trip #Lisbon