(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent telegrams to the countries over which he flew on his flight to Colombia for his Apostolic Journey to the country.
Those countries include: France, Spain, Portugal, United States, The Netherlands, and Venezuela.
Please find below the telegrams:
France
HIS EXCELLENCY EMMANUEL MACRON
PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
PARIS
AS MY APOSTOLIC VOYAGE TO COLOMBIA TAKES ME OVER FRANCE, I SEND WARM GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AND YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS, WITH THE ASSURANCE OF MY PRAYERS THAT ALL IN THE NATION MAY BE ABUNDANTLY BLESSED BY ALMIGHTY GOD.
FRANCISCUS PP.
Spain
HIS MAJESTY KING FELIPE VI
KING OF SPAIN
MADRID
I EXTEND WARM GREETINGS TO YOUR MAJESTY, THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, AND ALL THE SPANISH PEOPLE AS MY JOURNEY TO COLOMBIA TAKES ME OVER SPAIN. ENTRUSTING THE NATION TO THE PROVIDENCE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, I WILLINGLY INVOKE UPON ALL OF YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF CONCORD AND PEACE.
FRANCISCUS PP.
Portugal
HIS EXCELLENCY MARCELO REBELO DE SOUSA
PRESIDENT OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC
LISBON
AS MY JOURNEY TO COLOMBIA TAKES ME THROUGH PORTUGUESE AIRSPACE, I SEND WARM GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AND YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS. ASSURING YOU OF MY PRAYERS THAT ALL MAY ENJOY PEACE AND PROSPERITY, I WILLINGLY INVOKE UPON THE NATION GOD’S ABUNDANT BLESSINGS.
FRANCISCUS PP.
United States (Ocean and Puerto Rico)
THE HONORABLE DONALD TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WASHINGTON
AS I TRAVEL THROUGH UNITED STATES AIRSPACE ON MY APOSTOLIC VISIT TO COLOMBIA, I EXTEND WARM GREETINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS, INVOKING UPON ALL OF YOU ALMIGHTY GOD’S ABUNDANT BLESSINGS.
FRANCISCUS PP.
The Netherlands
Sorvolo Antille Olandesi – 6 settembre 2017
HIS MAJESTY WILLEM-ALEXANDER
KING OF NETHERLANDS
AS I FLY THROUGH YOUR AIRSPACE ON MY VISIT TO COLOMBIA, I EXTEND WARM GREETINGS TO ALL THE CITIZENS OF THE CARIBBEAN PARTS OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, PRAYING THAT ALMIGHTY GOD MAY BLESS YOU ALL.
FRANCISCUS PP.
Venezuela
HIS EXCELLENCY NICOLÁS MADURO
PRESIDENT OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
CARACAS
AS MY APOSTOLIC VISIT TO COLOMBIA TAKES ME OVER VENEZUELA, I SEND CORDIAL GREETINGS TO YOUR EXCELLENCY AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA. PRAYING THAT ALL IN THE NATION MAY PROMOTE PATHS OF SOLIDARITY, JUSTICE AND CONCORD, I WILLINGLY INVOKE UPON ALL OF YOU GOD’S BLESSINGS OF PEACE.
FRANCISCUS PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrives in Bogotà, the Colombian capital, on Wednesday at the start of his five day pastoral visit to the South American nation.
The Holy Father will be welcomed by Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, together with other political and religious leaders, including the Archbishop of Bogotà, Cardinal Ruben Salazar .
The theme of the visit is ‘taking the first step ’ towards peace and reconciliation in the country which has endured half a century of civil war between the government and leftwing guerilla groups. While a peace accord was signed in Cuba last year, violence continues in rural areas and the nation remains deeply divided.
Ahead of the pope’s arrival, Cardinal Salazar spoke about his expectations with our correspondent in Bogotà, Linda Bordoni:
Listen to Linda’s conversation with Colombian Cardinal Ruben Salazar :
The cardinal says this visit is “really very important” as the nation is living through a “very decisive moment in our history”. At this moment, he says, “we are leaving behind years of conflict, of war” and hoping “we can go towards peace, fraternity and solidarity”. In this sense, he adds, Pope Francis will have “very important” words for the Colombian people.
Pope’s concern for “voiceless” victims
Asked about the many victims of Colombia’s civil war, the cardinal notes that in the city of Villavicencio on Friday, the pope will meet with some of those victims, as well as representatives of local indigenous communities. On Sunday, in Cartgena, the pope will meet members of the Afro-Colombian community and these meetings, the cardinal says, show that the Holy Father is “very concerned about the voiceless in Colombia”.
Minorities are key for peace
These minorities, Cardinal Salazar says, are now “the key for real peace” and in this sense, he insists, these meetings are “a moment of hope for all of us”.
Stewardship of creation
Finally the cardinal speaks about the important issue of ecology and the stewardship of creation, saying that the country has “important national resources” but it is vital to learn to use them without damaging the environment. At the moment, he says, “we are not so able to do that”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has departed on an Apostolic visit to Columbia. The Holy Father took off from Rome’s Fiumicino airport shortly after 11 am Rome time this morning.
He is expected to land in Bogota at 23.30 Rome time tonight.
During his visit he will also visit the cities of Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena before returning to Rome on the morning of 11th September.
As has become tradition, Pope Francis on Tuesday afternoon visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray before the icon of the Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani.
In a tweet before his departure the Pope said, “Dear Friends, please pray for me and all of Colombia, where I will be travelling for a journey dedicated to reconciliation and peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday sent a video message to the people of Colombia ahead of his Apostolic Journey to the country on 6-11 September, inviting them to “take the first step” towards peace.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
With just a handful of days to go before his Apostolic Journey, Pope Francis invited all Colombians to “take the first step” in reaching out to their neighbor in a sign of peace.
He thanked those “who welcome me to your land and into your heart” for their many efforts to prepare his visit.
“Let us take the first step” is the theme of his Apostolic Journey to Colombia , and the Holy Father said it “urges us to be the first to love, in order to build bridges and create solidarity.”
He said Colombia has long yearned and worked for peace, which, he said, should be “a stable and lasting peace, so that we see and treat each other as brothers and not as enemies.”
“Peace,” he said, “reminds us that we are all children of the same Father, who loves and consoles us.”
Pope Francis went on to say he is “honored to visit this land so rich in history, culture, and faith.”
He called Colombia a land “of men and women who have labored with tenacity and perseverance to make it a place where harmony and solidarity reign, where the Gospel is known and loved, and where saying ‘brother and sister’ seems not out of place but a true treasure to protect and defend.”
Finally, the Holy Father said the Church is called “to the task of promoting reconciliation, both with the Lord and between brothers, as well as reconciliation with the environment, which is God’s Creation and which we are savagely exploiting.”
Please find below a Vatican Radio English-language translation of the video:
Dear people of Colombia, in just a few days I will visit your country. I come as a pilgrim of hope and peace to celebrate with you the faith in our Lord and also to learn from your charity and perseverance in search of peace and harmony.
I cordially greet and thank the President of the Republic and the bishops of the Episcopal Conference for the invitation to visit Colombia. I also thank each of you, who welcome me to your land and into your heart. I know that you have worked so very hard to prepare this encounter. My appreciation goes to all who have collaborated – and continue to – so that it may become a reality.
“Let us take the first step” is the theme of this Journey. It reminds us that a first step is always required for any activity or project. It also urges us to be the first to love, in order to build bridges and create solidarity. Taking the first step encourages us to reach out to our neighbor, to extend a helping-hand, and to offer a sign of peace. Peace is what Colombia has sought after for a long time, and she is working to achieve it: A stable and lasting peace, so that we see and treat each other as brothers and not as enemies. Peace reminds us that we are all children of the same Father, who loves and consoles us. I am honored to visit this land so rich in history, culture, and faith. [It is a land] of men and women who have labored with tenacity and perseverance to make it a place where harmony and solidarity reign, where the Gospel is known and loved, and where saying ‘brother and sister’ seems not out of place but a true treasure to protect and defend. Today’s world needs specialists in peace and dialogue. The Church also is called to the task of promoting reconciliation, both with the Lord and between brothers, as well as reconciliation with the environment, which is God’s Creation and which we are savagely exploiting.
My dear Colombian brothers and sisters, I yearn to live these days with you with a joyous spirit and with gratitude to the Lord. I warmly embrace you and ask the Lord to bless you, to protect your country, and to give you peace. And I ask our Mother, the Holy Virgin, to watch over you. And, please, don’t forget to pray for me. Thank you and see you soon.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met in the Vatican on Monday with a cheering crowd of young people and families belonging to the Shalom community . Speaking off the cuff in his native Spanish, the Pope replied to questions from three young members of the community about how to witness to their faith in a world often marked by indifference and hopelessness.
The Shalom Catholic community was founded back in the early 1980s in the city of Fortaleza in north-eastern Brazil. Today it counts some 3.800 members spread across the different continents, and is focused on contemplation, unity and evangelization.
Go out to share the good news
In his reply to a young man named Juan from Chile, Pope Francis highlighted the importance of “going out of oneself” to share the good news of God’s mercy with others. God is always with us, he insisted, waiting for us even in the most difficult moments of our lives, just as the father of the prodigal son runs out to embrace his child, despite all the sinful things he has done.
Avoid being self-centred
Replying to a young French woman about the role of youth in the life and mission of the Church, the Pope spoke of their joy which is opposed to the sadness that comes from always being self-centred or “self-referential”.
Narcissism, he said, is a disease which causes sadness by making us worry every day about how to appear better than we are. Calling it “the disease of the mirror”, he urged young people to “break the mirror” and look at others, as a way of escaping from today’s consumer culture.
Share freely with others
Pope Francis then responded to a young Brazilian man who spent many years as a drug addict before discovering the Shalom community. The Pope said drugs dominate people’s lives by destroying our roots and all that we hold close to our hearts. He urged young people to become aware of those roots and to share freely with others all the blessings that they themselves have received.
Learn from your elders
Finally, the Pope encouraged his listeners to learn from the wisdom of older members of the community, especially their grandparents. Engaging in this inter-generational dialogue, he said, is one of the major challenges facing our societies today.
(from Vatican Radio)…