Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics, is visiting Belgium in September. The Vatican has now announced the exact dates of the papal visit. The pontiff will be in Belgium from 26 to 29 September. It’s the first papal visit since 1995 when Pope John Paul II beatified Father Damian.
Religion & Philosophy
Roman Catholic leader Pope Francis to visit Belgium from 26 to 29 September
Colin Clapson
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The pope will first visit the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 26 September and later the same day he will travel on to Belgium. Pope Francis will visit Brussels, Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve.
The Catholic University of Leuven is celebrating the 600th anniversary of its founding in 2025. To celebrate, Flemish prime minister Jan Jambon (nationalist/N-VA), the rectors of the Flemish University of Leuven, KU Leuven, and the Francophone Catholic University of Louvain, the UCL, invited the faith leader with the support of Belgian bishops.
Filip, King of Belgians, repeated the invitation during an audience with the pope in September. With success apparently, as the papal visit has now been confirmed.
"I think first and foremost his heart has spoken," the Belgian primate, Archbishop Luc Terlinden, told Belgian media.
A precise programme for the pope's visit will be announced later. The Roman Catholic Church in Belgium is launching the dedicated website pausbezoek.be on which all the details will be published.
First papal visit since 1995
A pope was last in Belgium in 1995 when Pope John Paul II performed the beatification of Father Damien, who cared for the lepers of Hawaii. He was supposed to come a year earlier, but the pope had to cancel that appointment because he had slipped in his bathtub and ended up in hospital.
Much to the disappointment of Tremelo, Father Damien's native village in Flemish Brabant, where they had prepared the pope's visit to perfection. In 1995, Pope John Paul II only visited Brussels, and did not venture to Tremelo.