Pope Francis will be in Romania for three days beginning May 31, and the official agenda also includes a meeting with Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church and a visit to the People’s Cathedral, the biggest Christian edifice in Romania.

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Pope Francis is to visit the People’s Cathedral on May 31, the first day of the visit to Romania, Vasile Banescu, spokesman of the Romanian Patriarchy, told local Hotnews.ro.

Patriarch Daniel will receive Pope Francis at the Patriarchal Palace, in the same hall where Pope John Paul II was received back in 1999, Banescu also said. Then, they will go to the People’s Cathedral, where they will say prayers and send messages to the crowd.

The public will have access to these ceremonies, and the Patriarchy thinks of installing big screens outside the Cathedral, just as it did at the edifice’s consecration last November. Pope Francis will stay in Romania until June 2, and his program may also include a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian Presidency announced the Pope’s visit earlier this month, saying that, on this occasion, His Holiness will visit the cities of Bucharest, Iasi and Blaj, and the Marian Sanctuary from Sumuleu Ciuc.

In this context, local publication Ziarul de Iasi reported that almost all the accommodation units in the city of Iasi have been fully booked for May 31-June 3, when the Pope is expected to Iasi as well. The local authorities expect a significant number of tourists in this period, mainly from Ukraine, Poland and the Republic of Moldova.

The last visit of a Pope to Romania was that of Pope John Paul II in 1999.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (photo source: Pixabay.com)