Pope Francis visits Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, mourns victims
Pope Francis became the third consecutive pontiff to make the pilgrimage to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
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Pope Francis visited the Nazi German death camp of Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, on Friday. He is the third consecutive pontiff to make the pilgrimage to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp where Adolf Hitler’s forces killed more than one million people, most of them Jews. AP
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Altogether it was a deeply contemplative and private visit of nearly two hours that Francis passed in total silence, except for a few words he exchanged with camp survivors and Holocaust rescuers. Vatican and Polish church officials had explained that Francis wanted to express his sorrow in silence at the site, mourning the victims in quiet prayer and meditation. However, he did express his feelings, writing in the Auschwitz memorial’s guest book in Spanish: “Lord, have pity on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty.” AP
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He then travelled three kilometers to Birkenau, the vast satellite camp where the Nazis murdered Jews, Roma and others from across Europe. Invited guests, among them camp survivors and Christian Poles who saved Jews during the war, stood in respect as the pope arrived, his vehicle driving parallel to the rail tracks once used to transport the victims to their death there. At one point the deep silence was broken only by the wailing of an infant. AP
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As an Argentine he is the first pope to visit Auschwitz who did not himself live himself through the brutality of World War II on Europe’s soil. Both of his predecessors had a personal historical connection to the site, with the first, John Paul II, coming from Poland and himself a witness to the unspeakable suffering inflicted on his nation during the German occupation. His successor Pope Benedict XVI, who visited in 2006, was a German who served in the Hitler Youth for a time as a teenager. AP
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The pope’s visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau came on the third day of a five-day visit to Poland that includes meetings with young pilgrims taking part in World Youth Day, a global youth celebration. AP
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On the day before (Thursday) Pope Francis celebrated a mass in Czestochowa. He praised native son St. John Paul II as a “meek and powerful” herald of mercy as well as countless “ordinary yet remarkable people” who held firm to their Catholic faith throughout adversity in the former Communist-ruled nation. AP
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Pope Francis is helped by Vatican Master of Ceremonies, Mons. Guido Marini as he stumbles on the altar as he celebrates the mass in Czestochowa. He went on to deliver a long homily. Church officials said Francis was not hurt and did not complain afterward. AP
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On Thursday, the faithful greeted Pope Francis as he rode a tram to meet participants of the World Youth Day on Blonie Fields in Krakow. Francis rode in an electric tram through the heart of Krakow with disabled young people — a gesture underlining his mission to fight climate change and encourage more humanity for the disadvantaged. The tram was decorated in the Vatican colors of yellow and white. In place of the usual destination indicator were the words “Tram del Papa” — Italian for “the pope’s tram.” AP
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