Pope Francis

I leave today on my 32nd #ApostolicJourney. Dear friends in Thailand and Japan, before we meet, let us pray together that these days may be rich in grace and joy.

My thoughts go out to beloved Burkina Faso, where an attack has killed many people. I entrust to the Lord the victims and all those who suffer as a result of such tragedies. I appeal to the Authorities to promote inter-religious dialogue and harmony.

I am close to Armenian Catholics of Qamishli, in Syria, as they gather for the funeral of their parish priest, Father Hovsep Bedoyan, who was killed yesterday together with his father. I pray for them, their families, and for all Christians in Syria.

Dear friends, in this month of November, we are invited to pray for the dead. Let us entrust our family members, friends and acquaintances to God, especially in the Eucharist, feeling them close to us in the spiritual company of the Church. #GeneralAudience

I am saddened by the violence against Christians in the Tewahedo Orthodox Church of Ethiopia. I express my closeness to this Church and to the Patriarch, dear brother Abuna Matthias, and I ask you to pray for all the victims of violence in that land.

In these last days of October, I invite you to pray the #HolyRosary for the mission of the Church today, especially for men and women missionaries who encounter the greatest difficulties. #MissionaryOctober

My thoughts go once more to the Middle East. In particular to the beloved and tormented Syria, from which tragic news is once again arriving with regard to the fate of the populations in the North-East of the country, among these populations there are also many Christian families.

I entrust it to our common prayer and to the intercession of the new Saints, and I unite myself to the grief for the dead, the wounded and the dispersed. I encourage the seeking of social peace, with particular attention to the most vulnerable populations, to the poor and to human rights.

I ask you to accompany this important ecclesial event with prayers, so that it may be experienced in fraternal communion and docility to the Holy Spirit, who always shows the ways for bearing witness to the Gospel.

I invite everyone to pray so that this dialogue might be fruitful and lead to peaceful, just and lasting solutions, to everyone’s benefit