Despite being a minority in Myanmar, the Catholics made themselves heard in the streets.
The first person Pope Francis greeted was this priest. Meanwhile, a group of children sang a melody with parts in Spanish to the pope.
'Welcome, Holy Father, messenger of peace and love.”
Pope Francis sent a clear but simple message to the bishops of Myanmar – their first neighbors are the priests of their diocese.
POPE FRANCIS
“Be close to the priests. Don't forget that the closest neighbor a bishop has is the priest of the diocese. Each priest shouldn't only know, but also feel that the bishop is a father.”
Myanmar has 52 million inhabitants. There are 22 bishops for 777 diocesan priests. These priests must shepherd more than 600,000 Catholics.
The pope concluded by insisting that they should pay attention to ideological and cultural colonization. He said the Church in Myanmar must be close to the most vulnerable and asked them to keep defending human rights. To end the encounter, he prayed with them.
POPE FRANCIS
“Now, I invite you all to pray together – you all in Burmese, I in Spanish – the Hail Mary.”
“Hail Mary...”
