BICOM

Pope Francis returned to the Vatican yesterday evening following an historic two-day tour of Israel and the region, which yesterday saw him make symbolic visits to a number of Israeli sites.

The Pope arrived in Jordan on Saturday before travelling to the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank on Sunday. He met with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, celebrated mass in Bethlehem and made a surprise and politically sensitive stop at the West Bank security barrier. Later in the day, the pontiff arrived in Israel, where he was welcomed by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During a busy day yesterday, Pope Francis visited the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where he offered prayers. During a meeting with Israel’s Chief Rabbis, the Pope said that, “Together, we can make a great contribution to the cause of peace.” It echoed a recurring theme of his trip in which Pope Francis repeatedly called for religion to breed tolerance and peace. The pontiff also issued an unexpected invitation for Peres and Abbas to visit the Vatican to pray together for peace, which both leaders accepted.

Also yesterday, Pope Francis visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial before visiting the nearby Mount Herzl cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the founding father of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl. While at Mount Herzl, the Pope also visited a memorial to the victims of terror in a previously unscheduled stop viewed as a counterweight to his visit to the security barrier the day before. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that, “Israel wants peace. We do not teach our children to plant bombs. We teach them peace,” before Pope Francis responded by praying for all victims of terror, commenting that “the path of terrorism is fundamentally criminal.”

Prior to his departure from Israel, the pontiff met individually with Peres and Netanyahu. He then visited various Christian sites in Jerusalem including the Church of Gethsemane and celebrated mass in the Room of the Cenacle.