There are many
\nvoices saying the Pope’s upcoming visit to Romania is a historic event. Let’s
\nnot forget, though, that the extremely charismatic Sovereign Pontiff Saint John
\nPaul II visited Romania in 1999, being the first head of the Catholic Church to
\never set foot in a predominantly Orthodox country after the Great Schism of
\n1054. <\/p>\n
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Back then, the
\nPope called Romania ‘The Garden of Virgin Mary’. Pope Francis’ apostolic visit
\nto Romania, between May 31st and June 2nd, with legs in
\nBucharest, Iasi, Sumuleu-Ciuc and Blaj, will take place under the motto ‘Let’s walk
\ntogether’, which is a reference to the same expression used by Pope John Paul
\nII. <\/p>\n
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God’s people in
\nRomania live under the protection of Virgin Mary, Catholic prelates explain. During
\nhis visit, Pope Francis will invite all to unite under the protective cloak of
\nVirgin Mary. He will plead for gathering all forces together, strengthening
\nfaith and giving priority to the common good. <\/p>\n
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The Romanian
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis is expected to welcome Pope Francis on May 31st,
\nat 11.30 a.m., at the ‘Henri Coanda’ International Airport, and the official
\nwelcoming ceremony at the Cotroceni Palace, the headquarters of the Romanian
\npresidency, is scheduled to take place half an hour later. <\/p>\n
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The program also
\nincludes private meetings as well as a meeting with Prime Minister Viorica
\nDancila and other officials, representatives of civil society and of the diplomatic
\ncorp. The head of state will give a statement, and the Pope a speech. Also on
\nMay 31st, the Pope will have a private meeting with the Patriarch of
\nthe Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, as well as with the Permanent Synod of
\nthe Romanian Orthodox Church, at the Patriarchy Palace in the Romanian capital.
\n<\/p>\n
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The Pope will
\nvisit the National Cathedral, which is currently under construction, where
\nspeeches will be given and Easter songs performed, followed by the Lord’s
\nPrayer. Then, the Pope will hold a mass at the ‘Saint Joseph’ Catholic
\nCathedral. On June 1st, Pope Francis will be traveling to
\nTransylvania, to the Marian Sanctuary in Sumuleu – Ciuc, which hosts every year
\nthe largest Pentecost pilgrimage in Central and Eastern Europe. <\/p>\n
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He will then go
\nto Iasi, in the north-east, where he will visit the ‘Saint Mary the Queen’
\nCathedral and attend a meeting with young people and families at the Culture
\nPalace, where he will also give a speech. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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On the last day
\nof his visit to Romania, on June 2nd, the head of the Catholic
\nChurch will attend the Divine Liturgy on the Freedom Field in Blaj, in central
\nRomania, where seven Greek-Catholic martyr bishops, killed between 1950-1970 in
\ncommunist prisons, will be beatified. The visit to Romania of Pope Francis will
\nend on June 2nd, at 5.30 p.m. with an official ceremony at the Sibiu
\nInternational Airport. <\/p>\n
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\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The program of the Popes visit to Romania, over May 31st \u2013 June 2nd, has been officially announced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":49626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[34607,35296,39609,31972],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-81206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-francis","tag-john","tag-paul","tag-pope"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n