Pope Francis ended his Colombian tour in this city Sept. 10, starting his day by blessing the corner stone of the homeless shelter Talitha Qum at St. Francis Square.
In a press conference on the flight back to Rome Sept. 10 after a visit to Colombia, Pope Francis said he hoped President Trump would reconsider his decision to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA: The country has a contested peace deal to end its civil war, but Francis says in homily, "No collective process excuses us from the challenge of meeting, clarifying, forgiving."
Pope Francis told a crowd of more than a million here Sept. 9 that being a Christian is not about how closely you follow doctrinal laws, but rather how you live out the essential values of the faith.
VILLAVICENCIO, COLOMBIA: In a large field about 20 minutes outside the city center, Francis celebrated Mass before 650,000 people, in the city that is one of the country's worst places for violence.
In Villavicencio, Pope Francis Sept. 8 asked those who had survived a war that killed some 220,000 to set aside their desire for vengeance in order to open the way for reconciliation.
People in Villavicencio, Colombia, where Pope Francis will visit Sept. 8, have prepared for the pontiff by undertaking a pilgrimage with the Cristo de Bojayá, a bombed-out crucifix representing the pain of the country's 50-year war.
Pope Francis encouraged Colombians Sept. 7 to move beyond what he termed the "corrupting darkness" of the country's 50 years of guerilla conflict, saying they live in a land of "unimaginable fertility" that can provide for the needs of everyone.
Francis in Colombia: Pope Francis exhorted Colombian political leaders Sept. 7 to protect the peace deal that recently ended a bloody 50-year war in their country, even though it's not popular.
When Pope Francis lands in Colombia in September, he will encounter a population that is still torn over a peace deal ending a bloody 50-year war between the government and rebel guerilla forces.
Latin America has some of the highest income disparities in the world. Tourists flock to the Caribbean city’s beach resorts, which contrast with the poverty in which most of the city’s Afro-Colombian population lives.
