ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has added a stop in Luxembourg to a trip to Belgium in September, a three-day visit that will come as he is recovering from a much longer and challenging trip to Asia. The Vatican on Monday announced the Sept. 26-29 dates of the planned trip, saying Francis would first stop in Luxembourg and then travel onto Brussels, Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. Belgium’s bishops had previously announced that Francis was coming to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the country’s two main Catholic universities. Francis’ stop in Luxembourg is apparently something of a nod to Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Jesuit archbishop of Luxembourg who is playing a major role in Francis’ big synod, a years-long reform project for the Catholic Church. The Luxembourg and Belgium visit is scheduled to begin less than two weeks after Francis returns from the longest and most challenging foreign trip of his pontificate, a Sept. 2-13 voyage to Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. |
Inside the lab where volunteers are paid £14,000 to lie upside down for 60 days NONRishi Sunak rejects calls to proscribe Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terror groupChina to launch inspection on improving business environmentLiverpool falls silent to mark 35th anniversary of Hillsborough disaster: NinetyGerman chancellor arrives in SW ChinaExhibiting how dragon got integrated into Tibetan cultureMeet the superThe New York Islanders clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 4China's GDP grew 5.3% in Q1, beating expectations The proof going vegan ISN'T better for you? Study finds plant