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By Salvatore Cernuzio

Pope Francis will soon embark on a new international journey, the 46th of his pontificate, when he travels to Luxembourg and Belgium on September 26-29.

He will address a host of themes, including peace, migration, the climate emergency, and the future for young people, while focusing on Church issues, including the role of Christianity in societies marked by secularisation, and the contribution of Christian education.

The Catholic University of Louvain, founded in 1425, is marking its 600th anniversary, and this anniversary is one of the reasons for the papal journey. 

In the footsteps of John Paul II

Offering details about the Apostolic Journey, Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, gave reassurances regarding the Pope's health, since he cancelled his scheduled audiences on Monday due to "a mild flu-like condition." Mr. Bruni added there are no updates and that, "for the moment everything remains exactly as planned."

The upcoming visit also follows in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II's visits to the two countries in 1985, when he met with the students of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the academic community of the Université Catholique de Louvain.

These two events are also part of Pope Francis' programme. His visit also includes a beatification during Mass at the King Baudouin Stadium of Venerable Anna de Jesus, who led the monastery in Brussels for fourteen years.

Pope John Paul II also celebrated a beatification in Belgium in 1995, that of Saint Damien de Veuster, known as Damien of Molokai, a great Belgian missionary who died among the lepers of Hawaii whom he had served at the cost of his own life.

Christian witness in Europe

Before him, many other saints and missionaries sowed the seeds of Christianity over the centuries in these lands, where today there are about 8,4 million Catholics in Belgium and fewer than 300,000 in Luxembourg.

"Secularisation is an issue, but more so perhaps is the challenge of Christian witness in a Europe where Christianity is less known than in the past, full of questions, many unexpressed, with a perception of decline," Mr. Bruni added. "There are already attempts to respond to these matters within these communities that will be encouraged by the Pope."

European institutions

In addition to the Catholic communities, also from neighbouring countries, the Pope will take his message to two countries that host "the heaquarters of various European institutions, especially of a financial nature" (Luxembourg) and "the seat of a large part of the EU administration" (Belgium).

The places are "a part of the world that others look to" that Pope Francis will visit and his words will be "spoken to the heart of Europe" and "the role it wants to play in the world in the near future" for welcome and solidarity between nations, noting some nations have been "victims" of occupation and destruction and today suffer from ongoing conflicts.

The logos for the visit to Luxembourg and Belgium

Central theme of peace

Peace will be one of the main themes of the seven speeches, all of which will be delivered in Italian.

Mr. Bruni said the themes he will address recall the history of those lands that have strongly desired and worked to create conditions for peace after the suffering endured during the war, at a time when the continent risks being dragged into conflict once again. The Pope will also address environmental issues the continent is debating.

Transformation of society

Interwoven with these themes is that of Catholic education and its role in an age of technological growth. The two meetings at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université Catholique de Louvain (27 and 28 September, respectively) will provide an opportunity for the Pope to offer thoughts on "what Christianity still has to say to European culture."

During the meeting with the professors of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, a video on humanitarian assistance to refugees will be shown. The theme is very current and a challenge for society in view of the transformation Belgian society has undergone in recent years, also with the presence of refugees in university institutions.

Possible meeting with abuse victims

The issue of sexual abuse by clergy also came up during the briefing when the journalists asked a few questions, especially regarding news given by the Belgian Bishops’ Conference about a possible meeting of the Pope with 15 victims: six men and nine women.

The meeting is scheduled to take place "with complete discretion" at a place and date that will only be revealed later, the Bishops said. 

Mr. Bruni did not give confirmation about this meeting, but said, "If there is a specific meeting, in agreement with the victims, we will provide information on it later."

Regarding Bishop Vangheluwe, guilty of child abuse, including a nephew, Mr. Bruni explained that the Pope is "aware of the pain, drama, and suffering in Belgium, and we can certainly expect references to this."

In conclusion, other details of the four-day visit were touched upon, including meetings with EU authorities and related institutions.

Coupled with this will be several visits with youth, priests, and religious. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is currently in New York representing the Holy See at the 79th UN General Assembly, and will not be present on the journey.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, will be in attendance.