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. |
Overseas experts hail Xi's notion of building modern Chinese civilizationCapitals' Nick Jensen is conscious and alert after being stretchered off the iceXi: Advance prosperity of Chinese cultureSalvador Perez homers, Bobby Witt Jr. scores 4 times as Royals beat Mets 11State Council meeting studies policies to sustain economic recoveryState Council stresses work on flood relief, rebuildingOswaldo Cabrera homers, Yankees survive late scare, beat Guardians 3Mainland's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairmanChinese vice premier calls on central SOEs to contribute more to Tibet's developmentXi stresses greater efforts to build beautiful Xinjiang in pursuing Chinese modernization