He met with kings, Catholics and the country's elders, but the official reason for Pope Francis' visit to Belgium was this: to celebrate the 600th anniversary of one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Louvain.
In his speech, the Pope thanked the university community for being open-minded and welcoming to refugees.
POPE FRANCIS
While some are calling for the boundaries to be tightened, you, as a university community, have expanded them, thank you. You have opened your arms to welcome these people marked by pain, to help them study and grow. Thank you.
In 1968, the university was divided in two due to linguistic differences: the Dutch dialect and the French dialect. The two campuses are about 15 miles apart. The Pope first visited the Dutch-speaking campus.
At the end of the meeting, the Pope greeted a group of refugees one by one and listened to their testimonies.
CA
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