The Pope was surprised to find Cardinal Philippe Barbarin ni Assisi.
The Cardinal was accompanied by a number of sick people and homeless.
In March 2020, Pope Francis accepted the Cardinal's resignation as Archbishop of Lyon, France, after a controversial judicial process.
He was put on trial, accused of having covered up the sexual abuse of minors committed by a former priest, but the Cardinal was found not guilty. The Pope accepted his resignation in order to remove him from the diocese.
In Assisi, Pope Francis has opened a new chapter in this story.
POPE FRANCIS
'I would like to thank, forgive me, Eminence, the Cardinal for his presence. He is among the poor. He also lived with dignity the experience of poverty, of abandonment, of mistrust. And he defended himself with silence and prayer. Thank you, Cardinal Barbarin, for your witness, which builds up the Church.'
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who is 71 years old and the former primate of France, is now a chaplain in an elderly residence.
JMB
TR: CT
