Pope announces ecumenical trip to Holy Land in May

January 6, 2014 - Pope Francis announced on Sunday he would be making a 3-day pastoral visit to the Holy Land in May. Speaking after his weekly midday ‘Angelus” prayer in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square he explained to thousands gathered there that the main purpose of his May 24-26 visit to Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, will be to commemorate 50 years of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople, which took place on Jan. 5, 1964, in Jerusalem. After over 9 centuries of mutual hostility, excommunication and isolation between Catholics and Orthodox, relations began to warm up after that landmark meeting. Pope Francis said that his visit would include an Ecumenical Meeting at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with the representatives of the Christian Churches of Jerusalem, together with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. He urged all to pray for this pilgrimage. Pope Francis announced his Holy Land trip in January when Christian Churches particularly pray for unity among them, marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25. The May trip is the only papal trip outside Italy confirmed so far for 2014 and the second such trip, following his visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for World Youth Day in July last year.
Before the “Angelus”, the Pope described how Christmas reveals the immense love God has for humanity. He added that “with the birth of Jesus not only is a new world born, but it is also a world that can always be renewed . God, said Pope Francis, is always present to nurture men and women and to cleanse the world of sin and he stressed that Jesus does not give up on us and never ceases to offer himself and his grace that saves us. The Holy Father concluded by thanking all those who had sent him messages of good wishes for Christmas and the New Year.