Pope Francis asks Argentines to give to poor rather than travel to Rome for installation

March 15, 2013

Pope Francis has asked the bishops, priests, religious, and laity of Argentina not to travel to Rome for his papal installation Mass on March 19. Instead, the Pontiff has asked them to show charity to the neediest while continuing to pray for him.

“Your Excellency, I have the honor and pleasure to address you to let you know that the Holy Father Francis has asked me to transmit to all the bishops, priests, men and women religious, and all the people of God, his serene gratitude for the prayers and expressions of tenderness, affection and charity he has received," Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, the apostolic nuncio in Argentina, said in a message to the nation’s bishops.

“At the same time, instead of coming to Rome for the beginning of his pontificate on March 19, he would like them to continue with their much appreciated spiritual closeness, accompanying it with a gesture of charity to the neediest.”

The Pope's request came too late to stop many Argentines who had already booked trips to Rome. The Hotels.com site reported that the number of Argentines searching from rooms in Rome had leapt by 37% after the introduction of the new Pontiff.

 

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Further information:

• Francisco pide a los argentinos no viajar a Roma y donarlo a los pobres (Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina)
• Francis to Argentinians: Instead of Traveling to Rome, Donate to Poor (Zenit)
• Pope Francis sparks Rome travel boom from native Argentina (ANSA)