List of pastoral trips made by Pope Francis

Contents

During his reign, Pope Francis made 34 pastoral visits within Italy and 47 foreign trips, visiting 66 countries in the process. His visit to the Philippines in January 2015 included the largest papal event in history with around 6–7 million attendees in his final Mass at Manila, surpassing the then-largest papal event at World Youth Day 1995 in the same venue twenty years earlier. Although Francis was born and served as priest and bishop of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, he never returned to Argentina after he became Pope.

International visits

2013

2014

  • South Korea (14–18 August)
  • Turkey (28–30 November)

2015

  • Sri Lanka and Philippines (13–19 January)

In the course of his visit to Ecuador, Pope Francis met President Rafael Correa, visited with priests and seminarians, paid a private visit to a Jesuit priest friend, visited a home for the elderly in Quito and a shrine in the town of El Quinche. His last Mass in Ecuador drew about 1.5 million people.[1]

Arriving in Bolivia on 8 July, Pope Francis was received by President Evo Morales at El Alto International Airport near La Paz. Francis spoke, in part: "Bolivia is making important steps towards including broad sectors in the country's economic, social and political life." Later, during their meeting, Morales awarded Pope Francis with the highest Bolivian decoration, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes and State decoration of Luís Espinal Camps, named after a Jesuit priest and activist known for his commitment to the disadvantaged people of the country, who was murdered by paramilitary forces in March 1980. He also presented the pope with a crucifix in form of a hammer and sickle, which form the symbol of the Communist Party, which he explained had been a form created by Espinal; the gift immediately proved controversial.[2] The Pope also prayed in the place near La Paz where the body of this murdered Jesuit priest was found, and he highlighted his preaching of the Gospel. Pope Francis visited also the Cathedral of La Paz, and after leaving, he traveled to Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the eastern part of Bolivia.[3][4][5][6][7][8] On 9 July Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Santa Cruz de la Sierra connected with the opening of the Fifth National Eucharistic Congress.[9] He also attended the World Meeting of Popular Movements, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where he addressed Bolivia's poor and indigenous communities, and apologized to the country's indigenous people for the "grave sins" the church committed towards them during Spanish colonial rule.[10][11] This event brought together delegates from popular movements from around the world; Morales also attended. Francis expressed in his speech on this event his solidarity with gathered popular movements and their efforts.[12]

  • Cuba and United States (19–27 September)
  • Kenya, Uganda, and Central African Republic (25–30 November)

2016

  • Georgia and Azerbaijan (30 September – 2 October)

2017

  • Colombia (6–10 September)
  • Myanmar and Bangladesh (27 November – 2 December)

2018

  • Ireland (25–26 August)
  • Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (22–25 September)

2019

  • Panama (23–27 January)
  • United Arab Emirates (3–5 February)
  • Bulgaria and North Macedonia (5–7 May)
  • Romania (31 May – 2 June)
  • Thailand and Japan (19–26 November)

2021

  • Iraq (5–8 March)
  • Hungary and Slovakia (12–15 September)

2022

  • Kazakhstan (13–15 September)

2023

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan (31 January – 5 February)

2024

  • Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore (2–13 September)[17][18]
  • Luxembourg and Belgium (26–29 September)

Visits within Italy

2013

  • Lampedusa: 8 July[19]
  • Cagliari: 22 September

2014

  • Cassano all'Jonio: 21 June[20]
  • Campobasso and Isernia: 5 July[20]
  • Caserta: 26 July[20]
  • Redipuglia War Memorial: 13 September[20]

2015

2016

2017

  • Milan: 25 March[23]
  • Carpi and Mirandola: 2 April[23]
  • Genoa: 27 May[23]
  • Bozzolo and Barbiana: 20 June[23]
  • Cesena and Bologna: 1 October[23]
  • Nettuno: 2 November[24]

2018

  • Pietrelcina and San Giovanni Rotondo: 17 March
  • Alessano and Molfetta: 20 April
  • Bari: 7 July
  • Piazza Armerina and Palermo: 15 September

2019

  • Loreto: 25 March– signed the post-Synodal apostolic exhortation Christus vivit.
  • Camerino: 16 June– presided the Sunday Mass at the cathedral in Camerino, which was significantly damaged by an earthquake in 2016, and wore a firefighter safety helmet.[25]
  • Naples: 21 June– promoted inter-faith Catholic dialogue with Jews and Muslims.[26][27]
  • Albano Laziale: 21 September – held a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Pancras which referenced Zacchaeus, the tax collector of Jericho who is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, as an example of why no one is lost in the eyes of the church.[28][29]
  • Greccio: 1 December[30]

2020

  • Bari: 23 February[31]

2022

  • L'Aquila: 28 August[32]

2024

  • Venice: 28 April: Pope Francis attended the Venice Biennale, this was the first papal visit to the international exhibition.[33]
  • Verona: 18 May.[34][35]
  • Fasano: 14 June: The Pope participated in the 50th G7 summit in which he joined a session devoted to artificial intelligence and held bilateral talks with several world leaders. This was the first time a Pope participated in a G7 summit.[36][37]
  • Trieste: 7 July

References

  1. 1."Pope's 'homecoming' tour moves from Ecuador to Bolivia". MSN. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015.
  2. 2.González Giraldós, Lola (9 July 2015). "¿De dónde viene el crucifijo que Morales regaló al Papa?". Infovaticana.
  3. 3.Pope Francis: I have come to confirm the faith of believers Vatican Radio. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. 4.Bolivia distingue a Papa Francisco y entrega obsequios Bolivia TV 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. 5.El Santo Padre rezó por Luis Espinal y resaltó su prédica del Evangelio Archived 20 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Bolivia TV 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. 6."Biografia de Luis Espinal". www.biografiasyvidas.com.
  7. 7.Francisco pisa tierra cruceña y es recibido por autoridades Archived 19 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Bolivia TV 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. 8."Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay". Vatican.va. 5–13 July 2015.
  9. 9."Toma, bendice y entrega", el Papa al pueblo boliviano Radio Vaticano. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  10. 10."Read Pope Francis' Speech on the Poor and Indigenous Peoples". Time. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. 11.Yardley, Jim; Neuman, William (9 July 2015). "In Bolivia, Pope Francis Apologizes for Church's 'Grave Sins'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  12. 12.Pope Francis: Speech at World Meeting of Popular Movements Vatican Radio. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  13. 13."Pope Francis to visit Lund when Catholics and Lutherans commemorate the Reformation". www.svenskakyrkan.se. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  14. 14."Apostolic Journey Of His Holiness Pope Francis To Sweden". www.vatican.va. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  15. 15."Pope Francis to visit Kingdom of Bahrain in November". Catholic News Agency. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  16. 16."Apostolic Journey Of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Kingdom Of Bahrain". www.vatican.va. 6 November 2022.
  17. 17."Pope Francis to visit 4 nations across Asia and Oceania in September - Vatican News". 12 April 2024.
  18. 18.McElwee, Joshua (11 September 2024). "Pope Francis lands in Singapore; inter-faith dialogue, climate on agenda". Reuters. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  19. 19.[19.2]"Francis – Apostolic Journeys in Italy in 2013". Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  20. 20.[20.2][20.3][20.4]"Francis – Travels 2014 Apostolic Journeys in Italy". Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  21. 21.[21.2][21.3]"Francis – Travels 2015 Apostolic Journeys in Italy". Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  22. 22.[22.2]"Francis – Travels 2016 Apostolic Journeys in Italy". Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  23. 23.[23.2][23.3][23.4][23.5]"Francis – Travels 2017 Apostolic Journeys in Italy". Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  24. 24."Celebrazione della Santa Messa al Cimitero Americano di Nettuno". vatican.va. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  25. 25."Pope Francis dons fireman's helmet to visit cathedral in Camerino". euronews. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  26. 26.Mares, Courtney. "In Naples, Pope Francis calls for theological dialogue with Islam, Judaism". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  27. 27."Pope Francis to visit Italian city of Naples in June - Vatican News". vaticannews.va. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  28. 28."Pope's Mass in Albano: We are not inspectors of the lives of others - Vatican News". vaticannews.va. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  29. 29.Brockhaus, Hannah. "Pope Francis: The Church is a home for the lost". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  30. 30."Pope Francis visited Greccio to sign a letter on Nativity scene tradition". Rome Reports. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  31. 31."Pope Francis addresses Mediterranean Bishops in Bari: Full Text". vaticannews. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  32. 32."Pope Francis opens Holy Door of Celestinian Pardon in L'Aquila". vaticannews. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  33. 33.Harris, Gareth (29 April 2024). "Pope drops in on the Venice Biennale and visits the Vatican pavilion". www.theartnewspaper.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Pope Francis visited the Holy See pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale on 28 April, marking the first time the supreme pontiff has attended the international exhibition.
  34. 34.Watkins, Devin (18 May 2024). "Pope at Verona's Arena of Peace: 'Future in our hands, not only leaders'". Vatican News. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  35. 35.Santucci, Matthew (18 May 2024). "Pope Francis' pastoral visit to Verona emphasizes call to be peacemakers". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  36. 36.Winfield, Nicole (14 June 2024). "Pope Francis becomes first pontiff to address a G7 summit, raises alarm about AI". abcnews.go.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Francis will address G7 leaders on Friday at their annual gathering in southern Italy — a first for a pope.
  37. 37."Pope to hold bilateral talks with world leaders at G7 Summit". www.vaticannews.va. 13 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024.