On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, Pope Francis landed in Lisbon, Portugal for a five-day visit.
The Pope is in Portugal to open World Youth Day, which marks a week of religious, cultural and festive events held about every three years in different cities.
The Pontiff, aboard the ITA Airways plane with his entourage and reporters, landed at Lisbon’s Figo Maduro military air base.
Pope Francis attended a welcoming ceremony hosted by Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the presidential Belem Palace.
Organisers expect a million people from over 200 countries to take part in World Youth Day, established by the late Pope John Paul II for Catholics in their teens or early 20s.
Through his visit, the Pontiff hopes to inspire the next generation of Catholics to work together to combat conflicts, climate change and other problems facing the world.
World Youth Day opening ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 3, 2023, where Pope Francis will meet students at the Universidade Catòlica Portuguesa. He will travel to Cascais, near Lisbon, to greet youth at the Scholas Occurentes and take part in ceremonies at Edward VII Park.
On Friday, August 4, 2023, some young participants will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation from the Pontiff in the “so Impèrio” Square in Belèm. Pope Francis will preside over the Stations of the Cross with young people in Edward VII Park.
The war in Ukraine will likely take center stage on Saturday, August 5, 2023 when Francis visits Fatima, the Catholic shrine which for over a century has been associated with a prophecy about peace and Russia.
Finally, the Pontiff will celebrate mass on Sunday, August 6, 2023, before returning to the Vatican.
Pope Francis Urges Europe To Pursue Peace
In an address at Lisbon’s Belem Cultural Centre, Pope Francis urged Europe to find “courageous courses of peace” to end the war in Ukraine.
The Catholic Pope has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and has sought to play a mediating role.
“We are sailing amid storms on the ocean of history, and we sense the need for courageous courses of peace,” he said.
“With deep love for Europe, and in the spirit of dialogue that distinguishes this continent, we might ask her: ‘Where are you sailing, if you are not showing the world paths of peace, creative ways for bringing an end to the war in Ukraine’?”
Pope Francis
Citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and Europe’s demographic decline, he urged young people in particular to take up the mantle to build a future together.
“I dream of a Europe, the heart of the West, which employs its immense talents to settling conflicts and lighting lamps of hope.
“A Europe capable of recovering its youthful heart, looking to the greatness of the whole and beyond its immediate needs. A Europe inclusive of peoples and persons, without chasing after ideologies.”
Pope Francis
Additionally, the Pope, who is passionate about protection of the environment, warned about the increased global warming and pollution of oceans and the subsequent climate risks.
‘We are transforming great reserves of life into dumping grounds of plastic,’ he said.
‘How can we claim to believe in young people, if we do not give them healthy spaces in which to build the future?’ he queried.
