In Mexico, Pope Francis prayed for migrants.
A few months later, he traveled to Lesbos in Greece to meet with refugees—a scene that touched many.
The Pope has visited places where men and women suffer abandonment, hunger and violence, like his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
I was kept as a sex slave and abused for three months. Every day, five to ten men abused each of us. We were made to eat corn paste and the flesh of the people who had been killed.
In the Philippines, Pope Francis brought to light the tragic situation of abandoned children.
Why does God allow this to happen? Children are not to blame. Why are so few people willing to help us?
After the pandemic, Pope Francis visited Iraq, a country struggling to rebuild itself after the effects of the Islamic State.
His trips included countries where it had been decades since the last papal visit, European countries that are not historically Catholic, and countries like Canada, where he traveled to ask forgiveness for the abuses committed against indigenous people in Catholic residences.
Pope Francis was the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula. In 2019, he visited the United Arab Emirates to strengthen ties with Islam. Three years later, he traveled to Bahrain to denounce religious fanaticism.
POPE FRANCIS
Because it is not enough to say that a religion is peaceful. We need to denounce and isolate the violent people who abuse its name.
Some of the most joyful visits were in Latin America. There, the heart of Pope Francis' message was evident from the time he got off the plane in Brazil.
POPE FRANCIS
But I want to make some noise in the dioceses. I want Christians to go outside their dioceses.
The Pope also visited Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. The joy shown by the billions of people who came from around the world demonstrated their love for the first Latin American Pope in history.
JRB
TR: KG
