PANAMA
Vatican confirms Pope’s visit for World Youth Day 2019
The Vatican .has confirmed that Pope Francis will be visiting Panama from January 23-27, 2019. A brief statement from Press Secretary Greg Burke said the Pope had accepted an invitation from the Panamanian government and Catholic bishops to attend World Youth Day 2019 during the visit. About 500,000 pilgrims are expected to attend the Panama event.
The January 2019 visit will be the Pope’s third World Youth Day. He attended the event in Brazil in 2013, months after his election, and in Poland in 2016.
President Juan Carlos Varela said that he “shares the joy and excitement of the Panamanian people” and promised full government support for the Pope’s visit.
While in Panama, Francis is expected to consecrate a colonial-era basilica that recently was restored recently. The programme has not yet been confirmed but during Francis’s trips abroad he usually visits the sick and meets those who are marginalised. He is expected to do the same during the Panama trip.
