Pope Francis returns to Rome satisfied after an intense, nearly four-day trip, and he already has plans for the future.
POPE FRANCIS
I don't know if I'll travel less. But I will confess that this trip tired me out much more than others. Eighty-four years don't go unnoticed. It's one of the consequences. We'll see. I will go to Hungary for the final Mass of the Eucharistic Congress. Not a visit to the country, but I will go to the Mass. But Budapest is a two-hour drive from Bratislava. Why not pay a visit to the Slovakians too?
The pope hadn't taken any international trips since November of 2019. In March of 2020, the pandemic forced him to cancel all his public events and trips. Pope Francis confesses that it was very hard for him to be out of touch with the people.
POPE FRANCIS
After these months in “prison,” because I really did feel a bit imprisoned, this trip revives me. It's reviving because it's touching the Church, touching the holy people of God. A priest becomes a priest to serve, to serve God's people, not to build a career or to make money.
On the flight, Pope Francis also joined in celebrating International Women's Day. He condemned human trafficking in the Western world.
POPE FRANCIS
Today is Women's Day. Congratulations to women. The feast day of women.
Women are being sold. Women are being enslaved even in the center of Rome. The work against the trafficking of women is a daily task.
The pope also praised Ali al-Sistani and asked that the people responsible for manufacturing the weapons used to destroy Mosul be identified. He also said he was moved by the mercy the people of Qaraqosh have shown to their persecutors.
He also congratulated the Spanish journalist from Cadena Cope, who celebrated her birthday during the trip.
POPE FRANCIS
Today is the journalist from Cope's birthday, not the other day. Where are you? Yesterday? Happy birthday. We have to celebrate.
The pope currently doesn't have any official trips scheduled. But on top of traveling to Hungary in September, he said he is working on organizing a visit to Lebanon and that he would be open to a future trip to Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil.
Javier Martínez-Brocal
