Pope Francis pilgrim in Chile and Peru

Pope Francesco  landed in Chile for his one week pilgrimage to Chile first and then Peru. This was the twenty-second pilgrimage abroad and the sixth to Latin America.

At the welcome ceremony in Chile, the Pope will be received by the outgoing President of the Republic,  Michelle Bachelet.

In addition to the capital, in Chile Pope Francis will visit the city of Temuco in the South where he will meet the Mapuche Indians and then on to Iquique in the North, a large mining area with huge social problems. In Peru, starting Thursday, he will visit the capital, Lima, the city of Puerto Maldonado in Amazonia and Trujillo on the Pacific Coast. This will be the first time a pope has visited Amazonia. We should recall that a special Synod on Amazonia has been convened in Rome in 2019.

As usual, while flying over Argentina,  the Pope will send a message – defined as “interesting” by the Director of the Vatican Press Office, Greg Burke – to the President of his country, Mauricio Macri.

The topic of the journey will be to share the message of peace and hope.

In Peru, one of the major events on his journey in South America will be in Puerto Maldonado where Pope Francis will meet the Amazonian communities: after the welcome ceremony, at 10 o’clock on Friday, 19th January the Pope will receive an expression of affection from the missionary children and the indigenous people’s leaders. About 11 a.m. there will be the long-awaited meeting with the native communities. Pope Francis will listen to what they have to say and give them a message of encouragement, solidarity and hope.