He Pope Francisco landed at 9:45 (local time) this Wednesday at the Figo Maduro Air Base, in Lisbon, after almost three hours of flight. The plane had taken off from Rome/Fiumicino International Airport at 8:00 a.m., bound for Portugal where the World Youth Day (WYD) 2023.
Before leaving, Francisco, as is customary, greeted a group of people accompanied by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski at his residence in Casa Santa Marta. In total, there were about fifteen people, including a group of young people, girls and boys, who are living a period in a recovery community, and therefore cannot participate in WYD, and three grandparents with their grandchildren.
The pontiff arrived at Fiumicino airport aboard a small black car and has been received by the mayor of Fiumicino and other local authorities. There, he boarded the plane, an Ita Airways Airbus A320neo with zero CO2 environmental impactas reported by the Vatican.
During the trip, in which he has been accompanied by his entourage, some seventy journalists from international newspapers and the crew, the Pope has flown over the airspace of four countries: Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
The Pope will hold a meeting in the VIP room of the airport with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Subsequently, they will travel by car to the National Palace of Belém, the official residence of the Head of State, for the welcome ceremony and courtesy visit to the president, followed by the usual meeting with the political and religious authorities, at the Belém Cultural Center.
After lunch, Francisco will receive the president of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Ernesto dos Santos Silvaand the prime minister Antonio Costa. The last engagement of the day will take place at the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria di Belém for Vespers with the local clergy.
This is the second visit to Portugal by the 86-year-old pontiff, who in 2017 was at the Fátima sanctuary.
(With information from Europa Press)
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Source-www.infobae.com