Greg Burke, the Director of the Holy See Press Office held a briefing in the Vatican to explain Holy Father Pope Francis’s upcoming pastoral journey to Chile and Peru. Greg Burke illustrated the journey that takes place from 15th to 22nd January, underlining that it will be Pope’s 22nd apostolic visit abroad. His Holiness Pope Francis explained that Pope Francis’s upcoming apostolic visit to these countries will take him to regions which are not only the country’s poorest and most peripheral but where environmental issues and demands for indigenous land rights have even led to unrest and violence.
As reported by Vatican Radio, Greg Burke remarked that “Pope Francis knows the two countries well having spent one and a half years in Chile during his novitiate and having travelled to Peru on various occasions and he also knows all of the Bishops who have recently undertaken their “ad limina” visits to Rome.”
In both countries, as per protocol, Pope Francis will engage in meetings with political authorities. He will also meet with bishops, priests, religious and lay people, he will celebrate 5 Holy Masses, dedicate time and prayer to Marian celebrations, to honoring local Saints, and to meeting with his Jesuit brothers.
