Yesterday is the second day of the Pope’s pilgrimage to Japan. Pope Francis celebrated Sunday Mass at the National Stadium in Nagasaki, where over 35,000 faithful gathered.
”Nagasaki bears in its soul a wound difficult to heal, a scar born of the incomprehensible suffering endured by so many innocent victims of wars past and those of the present. Let us lift our voices here and pray together for all those who even now are suffering in their flesh from this sin that cries out to the heavens”- says Pope Francis.
”I wanted to get as close to him as possible. I have the guest seat, so if I’m seated in the very front row, I can see him without anything blocking my view. This is a tsubaki sapling. If I can meet him face to face I’d him to bless this”- says Yasuko Tabana, Japanese catholic devotee.
The pope will meet with the victims of the 2011 disaster in Tokyo today. He will also pay a private visit to Emperor Naruhito in the Imperial Palace. Later, a mass and meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are planned. On Tuesday, which is the last day of his stay, Pope Francis will give a speech at the University of Sofia, founded by the Jesuits. Then he will set out on his way back to Rome. The current weekly trip to Asia is one of the longest and most geographically distant pilgrimages of Pope Francis.