ROME — Pope Francis hosted a group of about 30 “Palestinian and Ukrainian children” at the Vatican this weekend, the Vatican reported.
Children Came He highlighted Pope Francis’ new initiative, targeting people “mainly from war zones,” mainly from Palestine and Ukraine. Engage Vatican News reported that Children for Peace took part.
The Vatican said some of the children who visited the Pope were missing limbs but were “happy to be in a place where they could marvel at beautiful architecture rather than living in fear of bombs.”
The audience was arranged as part of World Children’s Day, a new annual event being celebrated for the first time with special observance on Sunday. mass A children’s event held in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis (above) listens to speeches during Mass for World Children’s Day, in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on May 26, 2024. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
his message At the ceremony, the Pope urged the children to “listen to the adults” and not to forget “other children and young people who are already battling illness and difficulties in hospitals and at home, and those whose childhood is still being cruelly stolen from them.”
First of all, Pope Francis said, these include “children who are victims of war and violence” and “children who are forced to become soldiers or flee as refugees.”
The Pope also received On Saturday, some 50,000 children gathered at Rome’s Olympic Stadium to launch “a movement of boys and girls who want to build a peaceful world” and “a movement to care for the environment around us.”
