Pope Francis arrives at Havana's Jesuit-run parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Ignatius of Loyola

PHOTO.VA - OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Before Going to Airport, Pope Greeted by 15 Refugees at Santa Marta

Most of the 9 Young Men, 6 Woman of Different Nationalities Who Met Francis at His Home Are Without Legal Documents

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In the moments before departing from Rome for his 15th Apostolic Visit abroad to the nation of Poland, July 27-31, for the occasion of World Youth Day, Pope Francis was greeted by 15 young refugees, reports the Office of Papal Charities.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, at about 1:30 p.m.,  Francis met the nine young men and six girls of different nationalities, most of whom are still without their documents.
The young people wished the Pope a safe journey and a joyous participation in World Youth Day. Though they are not going to the global event, they said they are spiritually united.
After this afternoon’s encounter, Pope Francis, his papal entourage, and journalists boarded the Alitalia plane at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. While on the flight, Francis sent telegrams to the Heads of States of the countries his plane flew over, in accordance with tradition.

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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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