This is how Pope Francis was welcomed into Luxembourg's Cathedral of Notre Dame for his meeting with the Catholic community. Many did not want to miss the opportunity to greet him up close.
And the Pope showed his closeness and affection to a group of sick people.
The Pope was also welcomed with this dance and listened to three testimonies, one of them from a representative of the linguistic community, who spoke to him about migrants and refugees.
POPE FRANCIS
Have compassion, says the Lord in the Old Testament, for the abandoned. At that time, widows, orphans, foreigners and migrants were abandoned. Migrants enter into the revelation. Thank you very much to the people and the government of Luxembourg for what you are doing for the migrants. Thank you very much.
The Pope also referenced one of the greatest challenges facing the Church: secularization. And he tried to give an answer to the problem.
POPE FRANCIS
The Church, in a secularized society, evolves, matures, grows. It does not withdraw into itself, sad, resigned. No, it does not. Rather, it accepts the challenge, in fidelity to the values of always, to rediscover and revalue the ways of evangelization, passing more and more from a simple approach of pastoral care to that of missionary proclamation. This requires courage.
At the end, the Pope was presented with a sign with the word “periphery,” a symbol of his pontificate. He said he would give it to charity.
Following the meeting, the Pope returned to the airport to head to Belgium.
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