Romania next stop on Pope Francis travel marathon

Pope Francis visits Romania on the 20th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s visit to the Balkan country, the first by a pope.

May 27, 2019

BUCHAREST: Pope Francis visits Romania on the 20th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s visit to the Balkan country, the first by a pope. Pope Francis has taken it upon himself to heal divisions within the Christian world and reach out to non-Christian faiths. The mission took him to six foreign countries in 2018. The total for 2019 could exceed seven.

Since Jan 2019, his travel marathon has taken him to Panama, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Romania. The next target is rumored to be Japan.

The leaders of Romania’s Orthodox Church are cool to his message of healing, a consequence of the tense and complicated relations with the Catholic Church from 1947 to 1989 under Communism. He will be received formally in Bucharest by Roman Orthodox Patriarch Daniel, and will visit the People’s Cathedral.

Eastern Orthodox Romanians make up over 80 per cent of the population, and Catholics make up 4.7 per cent. Pope Francis will visit the country’s enclaves of Catholics in the cities of Iasi and Blaj, and also visit the Marian Sanctuary at Sumuleu Ciuc. Local authorities expect a significant number of pilgrims to arrive for papal events, mainly from Ukraine, Poland and the Republic of Moldova. Pope Francis’ program might also include a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis.

Ahead of the Romania trip, the Pope recognized as martyrs Catholic religious figures who were victims of the communist era. They include Greek Catholic Bishop Vasile Aftenie. CruxNow reports that Francis has also recognized the martyrdom of bishops Ioan Suciu, Tito Livio Chinezu, Ioan B?lan, Alessandru Rusu, Iuliu Hossu and Valerio Traiano Fren?iu, all of whom, like Aftenie, were killed “in hatred of the faith” between 1950-1970 without a trial or proper burial. Romania under the Soviet yoke is widely considered to have been among the most brutal countries in terms of the persecution of Christians during the Communist Party’s anti-religion campaign, according to the Catholic periodical.--newshead.com

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