Pope Francis' last visit to Luxembourg: remembering what it was like
Aleksandr Nagornyi, freelance photographer
On 26 September 2024, Luxembourg hosted the first visit by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in almost four decades. Pope Francis, at the invitation of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, arrived on an official visit to the country - the first time since the visit of John Paul II in 1985.
The pontiff was welcomed at Luxembourg airport in the presence of the Grand Duke and Duchess and Prime Minister Luc Frieden. After the playing of the national anthems, the official delegations were introduced.
Pope Francis then travelled to the Grand Ducal Palace for a private meeting with the monarchs. Later, he received the Prime Minister of Luxembourg in a separate audience and discussed church-state relations and current challenges in international politics. In parallel, talks were held with high-ranking Vatican officials Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra and Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher.
In the afternoon, the Pope arrived at the Cercle Cité, where he was welcomed by national authorities, parliamentarians, diplomats, representatives of religious denominations and civil society. The ceremony was attended by the Grand Duke and his wife, the Speaker of Parliament Claude Wiseler and the Mayor of Luxembourg, Lydie Polfer. The speeches of the Pontiff and the Head of Government were accompanied by live music performed by the ensemble of the Luxembourg Conservatoire.
One of the most moving moments of the visit was the Pope's ride through the city centre in the "papamobile". This gave hundreds of Luxembourg residents and visitors the opportunity to greet the Holy Father in person.
The final stage of the visit was a meeting with the Catholic community at Notre Dame Cathedral, held under the spiritual motto "Pour servir" - "To serve". Here, the Pope made a speech and presented the symbol of papal blessing, the golden rose, to the statue of Our Lady of Consolation of Sorrows, the patron saint of Luxembourg.
At the end of the day, the Pope said goodbye to the Grand Duke, the Prime Minister and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, and flew to Belgium, the next point of his pastoral visit.
