Pope Visits Santa Maria Maggiore

Fr. Lombardi Also Says Cardinal Filoni Landed in Amman Yesterday

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Pope Francis has made his usual pre-apostolic trip visit to Santa Maria Maggiore.

In an unannounced briefing in the Holy See Press Office, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican Press Office director, told journalists that at around 11 a.m. this morning, Francis visited Rome’s Marian basilica.

“He spent about 15 minutes there, he prayed to Mary and brought her flowers,” Fr. Lombardi said.

Turning to the subject of the recently appointed papal envoy to Iraq, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Vatican spokesman said the cardinal landed yesterday in the Jordanian capital of Amman and hopes to reach Erbil today, the Iraqi capital of Kurdistan.

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On ZENIT’s Web page:

Background on the Pope’s visits to the Marian Basilica: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/august-5-snow-fell-on-rome

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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