Geneva was a day of encounters

Jun 28, 2018

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis was asked what images, what important and powerful moments, struck him during the one day visit to Geneva on June 21.

“I believe that — I would say — there is a common word: encounter. It was a day of encounters. Variegated. The right word of the day is encounter, and when one person meets another and feels the pleasure of the encounter, this always touches the heart, ” said Pope Francis.

“These were positive, even beautiful, encounters, starting with the dialogue with the President [of the Swiss Confederation], at the beginning, which was not only a dialogue of courtesy, normal, but a profound dialogue, on deep world issues and with an intelligence that impressed me. Then, the meetings that you have all seen ... And what you have not seen is the meeting at lunch, which was very profound in terms of touching on so many topics.

“Perhaps the topic on which we spent the most time was the young, also because all the Confessions are concerned, in a good sense, about the young. And the pre-Synod that took place in Rome, from March 19 onwards, attracted some attention, because they were young people of all Confessions, even agnostics, and of all countries. Think about it: 315 young people present and 15 thousand connected online who “came and went.” This perhaps inspired a special interest.

“But the word that perhaps for me sums up the whole trip is that it was a journey of encounter. The experience of encounter. Not mere courtesy, nothing purely formal, but human encounter. And this, between Protestants and Catholics, means everything,” explained the Pope. -- Vatican.va