Pope Francis: from today to Cyprus and Greece for the 35th trip of the pontificate

• The visit of Pope Francis to Cyprus and Greece

• The Pope tomorrow in Cyprus and Lesbos.

  "I will bring humanity wounded in the flesh"

• Migrants, the Pope's appeal: "Solutions should be found that respect their humanity"

• Pope, also this year the Christmas Eve mass brought forward to 7.30 pm

Share

02 December 2021 Pope Francis leaves today for the journey that, until 6 December, will take him first to Cyprus and then to Greece, with a final stop on the island of Lesbos: the 35th of his pontificate, which will raise the number of countries visited by Bergoglio to 55 .

The first day includes meetings with Catholic clergy and institutional authorities today in Cyprus.

This morning at 11.00 the departure - for the first time with Ita after Alitalia's departure - from Fiumicino to Larnaca, at the gates of Nicosia, where the pope will land at 15.00 local time (with an hour of time zone, 14 Italian ), welcomed at the airport by the president of the Cypriot parliament, Annita Demetriou.

Airport #fiumicino everything is ready on the runway for arrival @Pontifex_it his first flight with #ita to #Cipro #viaggioapostolico @RaiNews pic.twitter.com/VdFXeK4Arv

- Liana Mistretta (@LianaMistretta) December 2, 2021

Below is the travel diary with Italian timetable. Moving to the capital Nicosia, at 3.00 pm Francis will meet priests, men and women religious, deacons, catechists, ecclesial associations and movements in the Maronite cathedral of Our Lady of Grace. At 4.15 pm, the welcome ceremony at the presidential palace, followed by a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiades, in the private office and at 5.00 pm by the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in the 'Ceremonial Hall' of the Building. Then the arrival at the apostolic nunciature where the pontiff will stay in his stay in the divided island: the building is located in the so-called "no man's land", an area controlled by the United Nations, located along the "green line",between the Greek-Cypriot military lines and the Turkish-Cypriot ones.

, at 7.30 the Pope will visit His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus at the Orthodox Archbishopric of Cyprus in Nicosia, at 8 the meeting with the Synod at the Orthodox Cathedral in Nicosia, at 9 the Mass at the ' GSP Stadium 'and at 3 pm the Ecumenical Prayer with Migrants in the parish church of Santa Croce in Nicosia.

departure for Athens, arriving at 10.10 at the International Airport. The welcome ceremony in the Presidential Palace in Athens will follow, with a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the Presidential Palace. At 10.45 am he will meet the Authorities, the Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps. In the afternoon, at 3 pm, there will be a courtesy visit to Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens in the Orthodox Archbishopric of Greece in Athens. At 4.15 pm he will meet the bishops in the Cathedral of St. Dionysius in Athens and at 5.45 pm he will meet in private the Members of the Society of Jesus in the Apostolic Nunciature.

it is the day of the visit to Lesbos. Departure from Athens to Mytilene is at 8.15 am with arrival at 9.10 am. At 9.45 am there is a visit to the refugees at the 'Reception and Identification Center' of the capital of the island, which will leave at 11.15 am. Back in Athens, in the afternoon at 3.45 pm the Pope will celebrate mass in the 'Megaron Concert Hall' and at 6 pm the courtesy visit of Ieronymos II to Pope at the Apostolic Nunciature in Athens is scheduled.

The last day, Monday

, before leaving, the President of Parliament will visit the Pope at 7.15 am at the nunciature. At 8.45 am Bergoglio will meet the young people in the San Dionigi School of the Ursuline Sisters in Maroussi. At 10.15 there will be the farewell ceremony at the Athens International Airport. The departure for Rome is scheduled at 10.30, arriving in Ciampino at 12.35.

"I ask you to accompany me with prayer" Pope Francis asked the faithful at the end of yesterday's general audience. A prayer for his trip that will bring him back to Greece. "Tomorrow I will go to Cyprus and Greece, to make a visit to the dear communities of those countries rich in history and civilization ". A prayer that explains" will be a hug to Christians of various confessions ".

A prayer, for a journey that is something more, is “an opportunity - said Francis - to bring humanity closer to the flesh of so many migrants in search of hope.

A journey and a possibility, that Pope Francis will bring a group of 50 refugees from Cyprus to Italy, as happened on his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos in April 2016.