Pope Francis visited Rome's Santa
Maria Maggiore Cathedral on Thursday evening to pray to the
Virgin Mary ahead of his trip to Lesbos in support of refugees,
Vatican press chief Father Federico Lombardi made known.
The pope asked for the Virgin's protection and offered her
a bunch of blue and white roses to symbolize the Greek colors.
During his weekly general audience yesterday, Francis said
he was making the trip on Saturday to "express my closeness and
solidarity both to the refugees and to the citizens of Lesbos
and the whole of the Greek people, who have been so generous in
receiving (asylum seekers)".
Lesbos and the Italian island of Lampedusa are the first
landfall for people fleeing war zones in Africa and the Middle
East.
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