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Around the World in 10 Years: Pope’s 40 Trips Reflect His Priorities

By Justin McLellan

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Many of the 40 international trips Pope Francis has made over the past 10 years have been to countries where Christians are a minority or where he can draw close to people on the fringes of the world’s attention.

The pope always “chooses the peripheries,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, who has accompanied Pope Francis on nearly all his international trips.

Pope Francis goes “to the most problematic places where he thinks his presence can give way to positive developments, or where he can ‘turn on a light’ so that the world can see the reality of these places,” Tornielli told Catholic News Service.

Pope Francis has visited some of the poorest countries in the world, such as Mozambique and Madagascar in 2019 and Congo and South Sudan early this year.

In countries experiencing war, he has pleaded for peace as he did during a visit to the Central African Republic in 2015, and in nations recovering from conflict, he has promoted reconciliation as he did in Iraq in 2021.

He has returned to his native Latin America six times — but has never gone back to his native Argentina — and has traveled to every continent except for Oceania, which he was scheduled to visit in September 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope Francis has averaged four international trips each year of his 10-year pontificate even though he was unable to travel in 2020 due to the pandemic. He has visited 60 countries.

Yet just as notable as the countries Pope Francis has visited are those he has not: Spain, Germany and England, all visited by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Even Pope Francis’ brief visits to France and Switzerland lasted mere hours so that he could address assemblies of the European Union and the World Council of Churches, respectively.

In December 2022, he told the Spanish newspaper ABC that he had not organized an extended visit to any large European nation because he preferred visiting “smaller countries.”

Several of Pope Francis’ trips have reflected his commitment to interreligious dialogue. He became the first pope to visit several Muslim-majority countries: the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Bahrain, to advance dialogue with Muslim communities and condemn all forms of religious extremism with Muslim leaders.

In Abu Dhabi in 2019 he signed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together with Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque and university and widely considered to be the leading figure in Sunni Islam thought. And in 2022, the pope and the sheikh participated in the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan alongside 80 other religious leaders and hundreds of delegates.

The pope has also used travel to extend a hand to other Christian communities.

His trip in 2014 to Jordan, Israel and Palestine ended with a meeting with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians.

In 2016, Pope Francis signed a joint declaration with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Havana, Cuba, marking the first meeting between heads of the Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate.

Later that year, he went to Sweden to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with other Christian leaders.

The pope even described his most recent trip to South Sudan Feb. 3-5 as an “ecumenical pilgrimage,” which he made alongside the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Even in countries where it is typical for popes to visit, Pope Francis’ choice of activities can be surprising and show his desire to stay close to marginalized people.

During his apostolic visit to the United States in 2015, the pope received a regal welcome, he met with President Barack Obama at the White House and became the first pope to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. Yet immediately following the historic moment, he ate lunch with homeless people at a local parish. In Philadelphia, he visited a maximum-security prison before celebrating Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Other trips have seen the pope visit refugee camps, elderly person homes and hospitals.

“He always tries to visit places where people are suffering,” Tornielli told CNS, “places where he can feel people’s lived experienced.”

As for where the pope will travel next, Pope Francis has indicated a possible trip to Mongolia is on the horizon. Tornielli noted that a papal trip to India which was previously in the works could be revived.

He added that it is Pope Francis’ dreams is to travel to one place where his predecessor, St. John Paul II, had also wanted to go but never managed: China.

Bishop O’Connell’s Work Is Not Done, Nephew Says At Funeral Mass

LOS ANGELES — Speaking to more than 3,500 people gathered for the funeral Mass of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, his nephew, also David O’Connell, took the opportunity to urge everybody to “pick up where he left off and to carry the example that he set” of compassion and caring.

“Help those that you can help. Lend an ear and listen to people. Respect each other, be considerate, and give each other the benefit of the doubt,” O’Connell said. “Have patience and give everyone a chance. Make sure that those who are close to you know that you love them and that you are proud of them.”

The March 3 funeral Mass was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and celebrated by Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles. In attendance were Cardinal Roger Mahony, former archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, and Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego.

Bishop O’Connell’s family flew in from Ireland, as did more than 30 bishops from across the country. There were also 300-plus clergy, 32 civic leaders, and 18 dignitaries in attendance.

O’Connell and homilist Msgr. Jarlath Cunnane both opened their remarks to those in the pews with a joke, recognizing, as many have since Bishop O’Connell’s death on Feb. 18, his renowned sense of humor. Thereafter, they each described a selfless man with a strong faith and a big heart.

Like Bishop O’Connell, Msgr. Cunnane is a native of Ireland. They’d been close friends since 1971. Msgr. Cunnane, however, recognized Bishop O’Connell not just as his friend but as “the friend of Jesus Christ” and “the friend of the poor.” He highlighted the way Bishop O’Connell knew the presence of Jesus existed in the strangers around him and always found the good in people.

Speaking about his uncle, O’Connell noted Bishop O’Connell’s selflessness.

“Uncle Dave was an inspiration for us throughout our whole lives, and he will remain so,” O’Connell said. “He taught us that if you have the capacity to help someone, you should do it. All he wanted to do was make things easier for everyone else, and he never asked for a single thing in return.”

The funeral Mass began at 11 a.m. PST. Archbishop Gomez opened the service by remembering Bishop O’Connell as someone who “loved and served Jesus with all of his heart and all of his strength, and like Jesus, he loved his brothers and sisters to the end with a special love for those who are often forgotten, and those who live on society’s margins.”

Archbishop Gomez then shared the recent message sent from Pope Francis, saying he is “deeply saddened to learn of the untimely and tragic death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell.”

“His Holiness Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to you, the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the archdiocese,” reads the message, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

To close his homily, Msgr. Cunnane, pastor of St. Cornelius Church in Long Beach, California, recalled an instance from a funeral some months ago in which Bishop O’Connell quoted the “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. In the homily, Msgr. Cunnane took that quote and adapted it with Bishop O’Connell’s name and all of the things that he was known to do.

“Now, David, that you are a part of the great spirit of God, I hear you say, Wherever there is a fight for the hungry to eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there is a victim of violence needing comfort, I’ll be there. Wherever a stranger, immigrant is to be welcomed, I’ll be there,” Msgr. Cunnane said.

“Wherever there’s a child needing a good education, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a wounded heart, being given healing and peace, I’ll be there,” he added. “Wherever there’s a lost soul given God’s love, I’ll be there. Wherever division and enmity are overcome by encounter and conversation, I’ll be there.”

Feeding the Homeless Was Late Bishop’s Passion

Bishop David O’Connell was known for his work in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Skid Row isn’t just one of the roughest communities in the country, it also has some of the largest groups of people who are homeless. 

Michelle Powers tells us, despite the gritty exterior, Bishop O’Connell still called those streets home.

Lenten Pilgrimage Marches on At St Mark’s Church in Sheepshead Bay

The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten pilgrimage is pushing on with parishioners stopping at St. Mark’s church in Sheepshead Bay on Thursday.

The day was packed with services for pilgrims to take part in, starting with Mass at 8:30am with Bishop Robert Brennan.

Included in the festivities were a holy hour for vocations, rosary, chaplet of divine mercy, holy hour for young people and eucharistic reposition.

In his homily, Bishop Robert Brennan advised those young and old about the importance of having a trusting friendship with Jesus Christ and each other.

Friend of Bishop O’Connell Recalls How the Slain Priest Changed the Landscape of LA

The stories about Bishop O’Connell are endless but one example is something people are calling a possible miracle when he was the pastor of St Michael’s Church in South Central Los Angeles.

He served there as a priest before he became a bishop. It’s a notoriously violent and impoverished neighborhood. A friend of the bishop, Matt Meeks, says O’Connell changed that for so many.

To view an extended cut of our exclusive interview with Meeks, visit the Currents News Facebook page.