Pope Francis' visit to Romania ends: I'm taking with me places, moments, yet especially faces

Pope Francis on Sunday said after three days spent in Romania that he leaves "enriched" because he will take with him places, moments and especially faces of those he met. "I arrived to this beautiful and welcoming country as pilgrim and brother, to life various meetings. Now I'm going back home enriched, taking with me places and moments, and especially faces. Your faces will give colour to my memories and will be present in my prayer. Thank you and I'll take you with me! And now I'm blessing you, but first of all I want to ask you a great favour: pray for me!" For three days, hundreds of people participated in the public events organised in Bucharest, Sumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj, many times confronting the not so favourable weather with stoicism. The apotheosis of his visit was the beatification ceremony of the seven Greek-Catholic martyr bishops tortured and persecuted by the communist regime, that took place on the Liberty Plain in Blaj. "Dear brothers and sisters, even today there are new ideologies that appear, in a subtle way, trying to impose and on and break people away from their rich cultural and religious traditions. Ideological Colonization despise the value of the person, of life, marriage or family (...) and damages, through damaging proposals, atheist, the same as in the past, especially our youth and children, leaving them without roots to grow from," underscored Pope Francis. *** Pope Francis has arrived in Bucharest on Friday morning for a state, pastoral and ecumenical three-day visit, unfolded under the "Let's walk together!" generic title. The Sovereign Pontiff was welcome, on the Henri Coanda International Airport, by President Klaus Iohannis and his wife Carmen Iohannis. He was honoured by a military guard. After the official welcome ceremony at the Cotroceni Palace, the Pontiff had tete-a-tete talks with president Iohannis, after which he talked with premier Viorica Dancila, the authorities, representatives of the civil society and of the diplomatic corps. Then followed the trip to the Patriarchal Palace, where the Pontiff met in private with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Daniel. Afterwards, the Pope had a meeting with the members of the Permanent Synod of the BOR. The next moment of the visit was the National Cathedral, the Sovereign Pontiff being welcomed by the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Daniel and thousands of faithful who received in him applause. According to the tradition, two young in Romanian folk suits offered His Holiness bread and salt, along a nosegay. Pope Francis afterwards traveled to the Saint Joseph Roman-Catholic Cathedral with the Popemobile, saluting on his way through the thousands of people in the streets. The problem of faith is lack of joy, faith wavers when it just floats along in sadness and discouragement, said Pope Francis in the message conveyed, on Friday, at the "St. Joseph" Cathedral in Bucharest. The first day of Pope Francis' visit to Romania has clustered on the entire road thousands of people. From the Henri Coanda international airport to the Cotroceni Palace, from the Patriarchy to the National Cathedral, to the St Joseph Cathedral and finally under a downpour to the Apostolic Nunciature, Romanians from all over the country came to salute, see and hear the Holy Father. *** Saturday, on his second day visit in Romania, Pope Francis landed on the Targu Mures international airport, then continued his way in an automobile to Sumuleu Ciuc, where he was expected from the very dawn hours by tens of thousands of people who never let themselves discouraged by the rain. At the Marian Sanctuary of Sumuleu Ciuc,where annually takes place the greatest Catholic pilgrimage of Central and Eastern Europe, was celebrated the Holy Mass. The Pope presented the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary with a Golden Rose, a gift the Popes have been offering since long to the world's major sanctuaries. After the Pontifical Mass celebrated in the presence of around 100,000 pilgrims, Pope Francis left the Sumuleu Ciuc plateau, making a short stop at the Jakab Antal House of Sumuleu, near the Franciscan church, after which he furthered on to Targu Mures where he took off to Iasi. Pope Francis, accompanied by Bishop Petru Gherghel, was greeted at the airport by Auxiliary Bishop of Iasi Aurel Perca, as well as by City Mayor Mihai Chirica; he left the airport, heading in a Dacia Logan for the 'Our Lady Queen of Iasi' Cathedral, where he is to meet 800 children, elderly and sick. In the Culture Palace Square, Pope Francis was awaited by almost 150,000 people. From the scene placed in the square, Pope Francis held a speech and had a dialogue with the young and the families. At his departure, the Pontiff saluted once again the crowd from his Popemobile, as he did when arriving in the square, being cheered and applauded by the people present there, then took his automobile and left for the airport. *** On Sunday, on the last day of his visit, Pope Francis was welcomed on the Sibiu airport by local authorities, then continued his road to Blaj in the automobile. Upon his arrival at Blaj, the Sovereign Pontiff climbed in his Popemobile being acclaimed by the locals and the pilgrims. The "Pope Francis Visit 2019" Interministerial Committee for Security said the Blaj public events and the roads close to it were present 100,000 persons. The climax of the visit in Romania was on the Liberty Plain in Blaj, where Pope Francis beatified the seven Greek-Catholic martyred bishops during the Holy Liturgy. Cardinal Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, was the one who read the request by which Pope Francis was asked to proclaim the seven martyred bishops as Saints, "for they chose to die instead of denying their Catholic faith." The Holy Father agreed with the beatification and proclaimed the martyred bishops as Saints to be celebrated on June 2. The procedure of recognition of the martyrdom of the seven bishops lasted for a quarter of a century. Four of the bishops died in the Sighet and Gherla prisons, Valeriu Traian Frentiu, Ioan Suciu, Tit Liviu Chinezu and Alexandru Rusu. Their tombs remain unknown, as they couldn't be identified to this day. After they survived the Sighet prison, Vasile Aftenie, Ioan Balan and Iuliu Hossu were buried in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, under the supervision of the Securitate (political police, ed. n.). In the afternoon, the Sovereign Pontiff had a meeting with the Roma community members in Blaj at the Greek-Catholic Church of the "Barbu Lautaru" district. The pastoral, ecumenical and state three-day visit of Pope Francis in Romania came to an end on Sunday afternoon, in central Sibiu, from where the Pontiff took off with a TAROM aircraft to Vatican. The farewell ceremony, that took place on the Airport of Sibiu, was attended by president Klaus Iohannis.AGERPRES(RO - author: George Onea, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author, editor: Maria Voican)