Pope Francis concludes Apostolic Journey to Belgium
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis has departed Belgium's capital of Brussels aboard the papal plane bound for Rome.
The Brussels Airlines flight carrying the Holy Father and the journalists accompanying him took off from Melsbroek Air Base at about 1:20 PM local time, and is expected to land in Rome's International Fiumicino Airport around 3 PM.
Before departure, the Pope was seen off by authorities and was offered a choral-filled farewell ceremony at the airbase, after having celebrated Mass for the nation's faithful at Brussels' King Baudouin Stadium on Sunday morning.
After the Mass, the Pope had recited his midday Angelus prayer with the Belgian faithful. In his subsequent remarks, Pope Francis expressed great concern for 鈥渢he escalation and intensification鈥� of the conflict in the Middle East and appealed for an immediate ceasefire.
The Holy Father's Visit to the European nations of Belgium and Luxembourg, 26-29 September, was his second Apostolic Journey this month, after his 12-day Apostolic Journey at the start of September, to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.
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