Francis’ visit to Colombia: between mercy, hope and peace

Colombia has received three visits from a pope. The first came from Paul VI in 1968. His passage through the capital left serious traces in Bogotá, as evidenced by the district named in his honor, the Eucharistic sanctuary of Simon Bolivar Metropolitan Park or his visit to a humble church in the Venice sector, to the west of the city.

The second was John Paul IIwho for seven days in July 1987 traveled the country in marathon days, consecrated the remains of the city of Gunsmith like a sacred field after having been destroyed two years earlier by an avalanche. He raised a prayer for the reconciliation of Colombians which, in the 1980s, was considered one of the most violent periods in the country. He visited many of the main devotions of Colombians, such as the Virgin of Chiquinquira.

The impact of John Paul II Thus, a few months after his visit, the film “El Niño y el Papa” was released, with Verónica Castro, Andrés García and Carmenza Duque, made in Mexico, but whose plot takes place in Bogotá.

30 years later it happened Francis and renewed the vow of hope that pervades the Bishop of Rome when he visits each country. A few months had passed since the signing of the Final peace agreement at the Teatro Colón, between the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian state, when the Pope’s visit was announced on March 10, 2017.

From September 6 to 10, Francis visited four of the main cities of the country: Bogotá, Medellín, Villavicencio and Cartagena de Indias. To receive him, an operation was enlisted that cost around 28 billion dollars (nearly 8 million dollars) and more than 30,000 police officers were in charge of his security, necessary measures considering that almost 4.5 million people would have contact with him.

From the announcement and preparations for his arrival, it seems time has passed quickly as we look back and remember that the Pontiff’s flight was delayed due to a route change caused by Hurricane Irma. , which was then circumnavigating the Caribbean.

Finally, Francisco set foot on Colombian soil at 4:30 p.m., was received by the then President of the Republic, Juan Manuel Santos, and received a white porcelain dove from the hands of a child victim of the conflict.

Its passage through the avenue of El Dorado invaded millions of capitalists who gathered in the streets with the hope of seeing franciscoa trip that became a procession, which could only be led by the first Latin American pontiff.

Arrived at the apostolic nunciature, he addresses a few words to the young people who have gathered to receive him: “Do not let your joy be stolen from you. Let no one deceive you. Don’t be robbed of hope.” The phrase quickly became the hallmark of his visit. However, due to the intensity of the days that followed, the acts and protocols quickly ceased.

He arrived on the morning of Thursday, September 7 at 9:30 a.m., visited the Plaza de Armas of the Palacio de Nariño, the presidential residence, where he gave his first official greeting to Colombians. Later, he met the bishops of the country and, from the balcony of the archdiocese, he consecrated the faithful who asked for his blessing in the Plaza de Bolívar.

On the afternoon of that day, Francisco continued the tradition that Paul VI had established 47 years earlier, by leading a mass from the Eucharistic Temple in Simón Bolívar Park. Months later, his statue accompanies that of his predecessors.

An estimated 1.3 million people attended the religious ceremony, an overwhelming figure considering that Colombian cities like Barranquilla are inhabited by 1.2 million people.

On Friday, Francisco received a letter from Rodrigo Londoño, leader of the Farc, in which he asked for forgiveness and declared his devotion, the document also said:

That same day he visited Villavicencio. At 9 a.m. he celebrated his first Mass in the most important city of the Colombian Eastern Plains and in the afternoon he led the Great Prayer Meeting for National Reconciliation in Las Malocas Park. He ended his visit with a visit to the monument to the Cross of Reconciliation. That night he returned to Bogotá, where he spent the night.

On Saturday, the pope traveled to Medellín, where he celebrated another mass Eucharist. Almost the same number of worshipers gathered at that city’s Olaya Herrera airport as in Bogotá, except that 2.5 million people live in that city. He visits 300 children in an unfavorable situation and meets seminarians from the city.

His last day in Colombia was dedicated to the Caribbean, in the heroic Cartagena de Indias he visited the cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter Claverthe saint who devoted his life to the care of the trafficked African slaves who arrived in the walled city.

He visited the neighborhood of San Francisco, one of the most precarious in the city, where he visited a charity run by Ms. Lorenza. During the tour, the Popemobile suddenly stopped and hit his face, which did not prevent him from completing his program.

One of his last acts was to fly over the Virgen de la Bahía in a helicopter, in the Fortified city, to bless her. His last homily took place in the port of Cartagena, where he assured: “If Colombia wants a stable and lasting peace, it must urgently take a step in this direction, which is that of the common good, of equity, justice, respect for human nature and its requirements”.

The time of departure soon arrived, at 7:30 p.m. From the city that had linked Colombia to the rest of the world for centuries, Pope Francis departed, returning to Rome, leaving the hearts of Colombians burning, because well despite being a secular country, approximately 88.2% of its inhabitants identify themselves as Catholics.