Pope Francis departs from Belgium
Pope Francis concludes his Apostolic Journey to Belgium and Luxembourg marking his 46th Apostolic Journey abroad. By Deborah Castellano Lubov Pope Francis has left Belgium’s capital of Brussels and is en route to Rome. The Brussels Airlines...
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Pope Francis concludes his Apostolic Journey to Belgium and Luxembourg marking his 46th Apostolic Journey abroad.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis has left Belgium’s capital of Brussels and is en route to Rome.
The Brussels Airlines flight carrying the Holy Father and the journalists accompanying him left Melsbroek Air Base at about 1:20 P.M. local time., and he is expected in Rome’s International Fiumicino Airport just shy of 3 P.M.
Before departure, the Pope was warmly seen off by authorities and offered a choral-filled farewell ceremony at the Base, after having celebrated Mass at Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium for the nation’s faithful this morning.
After the Mass, the Pope had recited his midday Angelus prayer with the Belgian faithful. In the subsequent greetings, Pope Francis expressed great concern for “the escalation and intensification” of the conflict in the Middle East and appealed for an immediate ceasefire.
The Holy Father’s visit to the European nations of Belgium and Luxembourg, 26-29 September, was his second Apostolic Journey this month after his 12-day Apostolic Journey at the start of September, to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.
Pope Francis concludes Apostolic Journey to Belgium
