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. |
China's space tracking ship YuanwangEconomy on stable footing, experts sayXi Sends Congratulatory Letter to ChinaChina steps up development of intelligent vehiclesChina launches new satellite for space environment surveyChina launches new Earth observation satelliteBoom in travel to 'ice city' Harbin spurs sales of cranberry productsChina AI industry to see scale reach over $240 blnChina cuts 88 bln yuan in logistics costs in 2017Xi Extends Greetings Ahead of Farmers' Harvest Festival