Pope Francis's first international trip as a pontiff terminated as he returned to Rome on Monday. This tour to his home continent proved to be highly successful as over 3 million people attended the Papal mass at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. This mass was reportedly one of the largest Papal masses ever after Pope John Paul II's mass at Manila as well as his final mass at Krakow in his home country, Poland.
The night vigil at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro was the end of his Brazil tour due to which he gathered remarkable popularity. The Argentina-born Pope wrapped up his weeklong trip by trying to restore the clergy in the world's largest Catholic country. He urged the crowd which thronged the entire 4 km. long beach to spread their faith "to the fringes of the society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent". He rallied through the city in his open-sided car and appealed to the people to revitalize the Catholic church in his evangelical style. On the occasion of World Youth Day he stated that The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change". Pope Francis, 76 years old, also visited a favela slum, a drug rehabilitation centre and a prison to underline that Catholics need to reach out the underprivileged and poor on the periphery of society. He added that the next World Youth Day would be held at Krakow in 2016. On the recent public outrage caused by the amount of money spent to prepare for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics as well as the hikes in transport, he said that "I ask you to be actors of change, keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world".
Reportedly, demonstrators protested against the money spent on the Pope's visit to Brazil amounting to £32.5 million. The congregation also included dignitaries from Suriname, Argentina, Panama, Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil, and most importantly, young people who slept overnight on the Copacabana. On his way back to Rome, he attended an in-flight press conference. He shared compassion towards gay people saying that "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?" and that, people need not be marginalized on basis on sexual orientation.
Thus, Pope Francis's first international trip as Pope ended on a triumphant note, as Brazil Vice-Prez Michael Temer stated that "There will always be a place for Your Holiness in Brazilians' hearts".
The night vigil at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro was the end of his Brazil tour due to which he gathered remarkable popularity. The Argentina-born Pope wrapped up his weeklong trip by trying to restore the clergy in the world's largest Catholic country. He urged the crowd which thronged the entire 4 km. long beach to spread their faith "to the fringes of the society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent". He rallied through the city in his open-sided car and appealed to the people to revitalize the Catholic church in his evangelical style. On the occasion of World Youth Day he stated that The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change". Pope Francis, 76 years old, also visited a favela slum, a drug rehabilitation centre and a prison to underline that Catholics need to reach out the underprivileged and poor on the periphery of society. He added that the next World Youth Day would be held at Krakow in 2016. On the recent public outrage caused by the amount of money spent to prepare for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics as well as the hikes in transport, he said that "I ask you to be actors of change, keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world".
Reportedly, demonstrators protested against the money spent on the Pope's visit to Brazil amounting to £32.5 million. The congregation also included dignitaries from Suriname, Argentina, Panama, Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil, and most importantly, young people who slept overnight on the Copacabana. On his way back to Rome, he attended an in-flight press conference. He shared compassion towards gay people saying that "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?" and that, people need not be marginalized on basis on sexual orientation.
Thus, Pope Francis's first international trip as Pope ended on a triumphant note, as Brazil Vice-Prez Michael Temer stated that "There will always be a place for Your Holiness in Brazilians' hearts".
No comments:
Post a Comment