Pope Francis Visits Rome's Basilica to Entrust his Journey to Belgium and Luxembourg to Our Lady

Vatican News reported that Pope Francis made his traditional visit to the ancient icon of 'Maria Salus Populi Romani' at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome before his Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium. Pope Francis traveled to the Basilica of St. Mary Major on September 25th evening to entrust his Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium to Our Lady.
He prayed before the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani before returning to the Vatican, according to the Holy See Press Office.
According to a Facebook post by the Marian Papal Basilica noted that this marks Pope Francis' 120th visit to St. Mary Major.
The Pope departs on his 46th Apostolic Journey abroad on Thursday, Sept. 26th-29th and will spend the day in Luxembourg. today there are about 8,4 million Catholics in Belgium and fewer than 300,000 in Luxembourg. Peace will be one of the main themes of the seven speeches, all of which will be delivered in Italian.

He flies on the evening of the same day to Brussels, where he will spend three days meeting with the people of Belgium.
According to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis will encourage solidarity and courage to embrace the future. The 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.
One reason for the visit is to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Catholic University of Leuven, in Belgium.
Speaking to Vatican News, Cardinal Parolin said the Pope will call the European Union back to its founding values, which are based in Christianity.
He told Massimiliano Menichetti that the Holy See hopes to help facilitate the bond between past and future as the EU faces numerous crises, including war in Ukraine.
“If it intends to be a voice that is heard and authoritative in today's world and if it wants to overcome exhausting impasses,” he said, “Europe needs to rediscover the greatness of the values that inspired it.”
Pope Francis’ visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, said the Cardinal Secretary of State, will seek to provide a chance for deeper reflection on the Church’s role in Europe and a chance for everyone to compare their way of acting with the invitation of the Gospel.

Source: Vatican News