ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2023) Pope Francis started a five-day apostolic trip to Portugal on Wednesday to mark the 37th Catholic World Youth Day.
The 86-year-old pontiff arrived at Rome's airport in a wheelchair, which he has been forced to use recently because of acute pain in his right knee joint. An ITA airliner carrying the papal coat of arms took off from Rome for Lisbon, where it should arrive at 10 a.m. local time (09:00 GMT).
This visit is pope's 42nd foreign trip and the first one after the abdominal surgery, which was performed on him in June at the Gemelli hospital in Rome.
The visit's agenda includes meetings with representatives of the secular and ecclesiastical authorities of Portugal, including President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa, local bishops, priests and seminarians, as well as civil society figures.
The main event will be the pontiff's participation in the World Youth Day, for which about 1 million young Catholics from all over the world gathered in Lisbon. The pope will engage in meetings, conversations and joint prayers with them.
During his visit to the Sanctuary of Fatima, one of the most revered Catholic shrines, on Saturday Pope Francis will offer prayers together with sick young men and women.
The World Youth Day is an international event for young Catholics organized for the first time in 1986 by Pope John Paul II.
