The 2018 calendar for Holy Father Pope Francis will focus more on the rights and needs of migrants and refugees and a Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people and many more. His Holiness Pope Francis’ focus on migrants and refugees will come to the fore again Jan. 14 when he adds to the normal papal liturgical calendar a special Mass for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
As reported by Catholic news, His Eminence Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary-general of the synod, remarked that “Pope Francis hopes about 300 young people — mostly, but not all, Catholics — would attend the gathering. Many of them will speak to the whole group about the hopes and concerns of young people, what they can offer the church and what they need from it. They will discuss the presentations in small groups and will be asked to prepare a summary document for the bishops attending the synod.”
On Jan. 15, Holy Father Pope Francis will set off for a six-day visit to Chile and Peru. As is his style, the trip will include meetings with government authorities and large public Masses, but also a visit to a women’s prison and to a home for children at risk. As of Dec. 20, no other papal trips for 2018 had been confirmed, although Vatican officials have said it is almost certain Pope Francis will travel to Dublin in late August for the World Meeting of Families; on the same trip, he is likely to be the first pope to visit Northern Ireland.
