Pope Francis sits in a vehicle ahead of his departure for a visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
LUXEMBOURG CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis arrived in Luxembourg on Thursday for a brief day-visit to one of Europe's smallest countries ahead of a weekend trip to Belgium, where he will highlight the needs of migrants and meet with a group of survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy.
The Thursday-Sunday Luxembourg and Belgium tour is a rare European visit for Francis, who prefers going to places never visited by a pope, or where Catholics are a small minority. It comes less than two weeks after Francis returned from a demanding 12-day, four-country tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
