POPE FRANCIS I TRIP TO CEBU, PHILIPPINES GETTING CLEARER Journalist Salvatore Mezza of the Italian newspaper Avvenire had asked the Pope if he had, after his visit to Rio, a definite travel calendar. Pope Francis in reply said nothing is definite but added that trips on Sept. 22 to Cagliari and Oct. 4 to Assisi are set. Meanwhile, there are standing invitations from the governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for him to go to Jerusalem. The Pope also said he wants to visit Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople. Then the Pope said, “I think we can go to Asia, but this is all in the air. I received an invitation to go to Sri Lanka and also to the Philippines. But we must go to Asia because Pope Benedict did not have time to go to Asia and it’s important.” Catholics in the Philippines are of course praying that Pope Francis will attend the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu in January 2016. If he comes over, Francis’ papal visit will be the first in 21 years to these parts. The soon-to-be canonized Pope John Paul II came to Manila for the X World Youth Day in 1995. That was 14 years after he first visited in 1981, which in turn was 11 years since Pope Paul VI came over in 1970.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 07:28:54 +0000
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