Pope Francis visits Luxembourg and Belgium

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Pope Francis will soon embark on a new international trip, the 46th of his pontificate, when he travels to Luxembourg and Belgium from September 26 to 29.

He will address a wide range of topics, including peace, migration, the climate emergency and the future of youth. He will also focus on ecclesiastical issues, including the role of Christianity in secularised societies and the contribution of Christian education.

The Catholic University of Leuven, founded in 1425, is celebrating its 600th anniversary and this anniversary is one of the reasons for the Pope's visit.

In the footsteps of John Paul II

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, gave details of the Apostolic Journey and reassured the Pope's health, as he had cancelled his audiences scheduled for Monday due to a “mild bout of flu”. Mr Bruni added that there was no news and that “everything is exactly as planned at the moment”.

The upcoming visit also follows in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II's visits to the two countries in 1985, when he met the students of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the academic community of the Université Catholique de Louvain.

These two events are also part of Pope Francis' program. During his visit, the King Baudouin Stadium will also host the beatification of the Venerable Anne de Jesus, who directed the monastery in Brussels for fourteen years.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II also performed a beatification in Belgium: Saint Damien de Veuster, known as Damien of Molokai, a great Belgian missionary who died among the lepers in Hawaii, whom he had served at the risk of his own life.

Christian witness in Europe

Before him, over the centuries, many other saints and missionaries had sown the seeds of Christianity in these countries, where today there are about 8,400 Catholics in Belgium and fewer than 300 in Luxembourg.

“Secularization is an issue, but perhaps even more so it is the challenge of Christian witness in a Europe where Christianity is less known than it used to be, where there are many questions, many of them unspoken, and where there is a sense of decline,” added Mr Bruni. “There are already attempts to respond to these questions within these communities and the Pope will support them.”

European institutions

In addition to the Catholic communities in neighboring countries, the Pope will also bring his message to two countries that are “the seat of various European institutions, especially of a financial nature” (Luxembourg) and “the seat of a large part of the EU administration” (Belgium).

The places Pope Francis will visit are “a part of the world that others look at” and his words will be “directed to the heart of Europe” and “to the role it wants to play in the world in the near future” to promote welcome and solidarity between nations. He points out that some nations have been “victims” of occupation and destruction and today suffer from ongoing conflicts.

The logos for the visit to Luxembourg and Belgium

Central theme: peace

Peace will be one of the main themes of the seven speeches, all of which will be delivered in Italian.

Mr Bruni said the themes he would address recalled the history of those countries that, after the suffering of war, have strongly desired peace and worked to achieve it at a time when the continent is in danger of being drawn into conflict again. The Pope will also address environmental issues currently being debated on the continent.

Transformation of society

Intertwined with these themes is also Catholic education and its role in an age of technological growth. The two meetings at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université Catholique de Louvain (27 and 28 September respectively) will provide the Pope with the opportunity to express his thoughts on “what Christianity still has to say to European culture”.

During the meeting with the professors of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, a video will be shown on humanitarian aid for refugees. The topic is very topical and represents a challenge for society in view of the changes that Belgian society has undergone in recent years, including the presence of refugees in university institutions.

Possible meeting with victims of abuse

The issue of clerical sexual abuse also came up during the briefing, when journalists asked some questions, particularly in relation to the news from the Belgian Bishops' Conference about a possible meeting between the Pope and 15 victims, six men and nine women.

The meeting will take place “under strict discretion” at a location and time to be announced later, the bishops said.

Mr Bruni did not confirm this meeting, but said: “If a concrete meeting takes place in consultation with the victims, we will inform about it later.”

Referring to Bishop Vangheluwe, who is guilty of child abuse, including against a nephew, Mr Bruni stated that the Pope “is aware of the pain, drama and suffering in Belgium and we can certainly count on references to this.”

Finally, further details of the four-day visit were discussed, including meetings with EU authorities and related institutions.

This involves numerous visits to young people, priests and religious. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is currently representing the Holy See in New York at the 79th UN General Assembly and will not be able to attend the trip.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will be present.