Pope Francis will visit Greece from December 4 to the 6. Athens' ambassador to the Holy See believes that the trip is a great opportunity to strengthen relations between the two nations.
PANOS KALOGEROPOULOS
Greek Ambassador to the Holy See
'They are exalted, they feel very, very much honored by this visit. It is the second of a Pope of Rome in twenty years, after that of John Paul the second in 2001, and it shows how they feel that all they are very tiny and a small population, but they are not forgotten by Rome.'
This year marks 40 years of diplomatic relations between the Greece and the Holy See.
The ambassador says that Greek Christians welcome the visit of the Holy Father, despite the fact that the country has a majority of Greek Orthodox Christians.
PANOS KALOGEROPOULOS
Greek Ambassador to the Holy See
'We also have a tiny dynamic roman catholic community in Greece of about, let’s say, one hundred fifty thousand people against population of eleven million. It's not much but it's a colorful one because not only local Greeks from ancient times, but also many immigrants that came to our country from Poland, from Romania, from the Philippines, from countries in the middle East like Syria and Iraq.'
The trip also has a strong social and political significance. Pope Francis visits Greece at a time when tensions with Turkey are high over the migration issue. The Pope will return to the refugee camp in Lesbos which he visited in 2016.
In addition, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire.
BSB
TR: JM
