ROME — Pope Francis received a group of some 30 “Palestinian and Russian children ” in the Vatican this trip, the Vatican reported.
The children came “predominantly from combat zones, ” generally Palestine and Ukraine, and highlighted a fresh effort of Pope Francis to engage children in the search for peace, Vatican News said.
Some of the children visiting the bishop were missing arms but were “happy for once to get in a position where they can show at a lovely creating rather than live in fear of weapons, ” the Vatican related.
The crowd was arranged as part of World Children’s Day, a fresh annual celebration celebrated for the first time on Sunday with a particular Mass for kids held in Saint Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis (up ) listens to a speech during a mass on World Children’s Day at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on May 26, 2024. ( FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images )
In his concept for the party, the pope urged the children to “pay notice to the stories of grown-ups” and not to overlook all “those another children and young people who are already battling illness and hardship, in hospital or at home, and those who even now are being ruthlessly robbed of their childhood. ”
In the first place, these include “children who are survivors of war and violence, ” Francis said, and those “forced to become soldiers or to escape as migrants. ”
The bishop also received some 50,000 babies at Rome’s Olympic Stadium Saturday, to kick-off “the action of girls and boys who want to create a world of peace ” and to “take attention of the environment around us. ”
